Anna Kendrick. Blake Lively. Paul Feig. A twisty thriller novel as source material. Combined, those four key ingredients helped make 2018's A Simple Favour a hit, a delight, and a deliciously engaging and entertaining mystery. It's no wonder that audiences have been keen on a sequel for years — and come May 2025, those dreams are becoming a straight-to-streaming reality. Kendrick (Woman of the Hour) is back as Stephanie Smothers. So is Lively (It Ends with Us) as Emily Nelson — and as the just-dropped first teaser trailer for Another Simple Favour shows, nothing is straightforward between the pair again. As the name of the movie also makes plain, Emily has something else to ask of Stephanie. Out of prison and about to get married to a wealthy businessman, the former crashes the latter's book reading to task her with being her maid of honour. But is this just a quest for revenge? Using the Italian island of Capri as a backdrop, Another Simple Favour boasts Feig (Jackpot!) back behind the lens, too — and also Andrew Rannells (Girls5eva), Bashir Salahuddin (How to Die Alone) and Henry Golding (The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare) back among the cast. Equally part of this big return: more secrets, as little is ever as it seems with Stephanie's glamorous and mysterious friend. While the first film released in cinemas, this seven-years-later sequel is heading to Prime Video, hitting streaming queues on Thursday, May 1, 2025. It does have a date with the silver screen first, however – but only at this year's SXSW in Austin, where it's the opening-night movie at the event's Film and TV Festival. If you missed the initial picture — which was adapted from Darcey Bell's 2017 novel of the same name — it followed a widowed mum who is also a vlogger and becomes friends with a fashion executive. Then Emily asks Stephanie to do her a simple favour, changing everything. Screenwriter Jessica Sharzer (Nine Perfect Strangers), who wrote the first film, is also among Another Simple Favour's returnees — this time penning the follow-up's script with Laeta Kalogridis (Altered Carbon). Check out the first teaser trailer for Another Simple Favour below: Another Simple Favour will stream via Prime Video from Thursday, May 1, 2025.
Playing ice hockey isn't a regular part of growing up Down Under — even when it's frosty outside — but watching a ragtag team of underdogs try their best on the ice has been a childhood staple since the 90s. The reason: the Mighty Ducks franchise. The three Emilio Estevez and Joshua Jackson-starring films hit screens between 1992–6, and have remained nostalgic favourites ever since. The trio of movies also spanned an animated show back in 1996; however, as fans experienced earlier this year, that's not the franchise's only leap into television. Because everything old is new again — including making that observation, because it just keeps proving relevant — Disney+ brought back Mighty Ducks back courtesy of new series The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers, and its first season started streaming back in March. If Karate Kid can live on via the small screen, then so can this other beloved sports-focused saga, it seems. And like Cobra Kai, Game Changers brought back a familiar face when it debuted its ten-episode first season. That'd be Estevez, who reprises his role as Coach Gordon Bombay. Sadly, Jackson isn't involved this time around, perhaps because he was busy with the vastly dissimilar Dr Death — but Gilmore Girls star Lauren Graham features as the mother of a hockey-loving boy who helps him create his own team. Aimed at all ages — so at kids just discovering Mighty Ducks for the first time, and adults with fond memories — the show firmly, eagerly and unmistakably follows the underdog formula established in the films. The series is set in Minnesota, where the Mighty Ducks are now a big deal, 12-year-old Evan Morrow (Brady Noon) gets cut from the team because they don't think he's good enough, and he and his mom (Graham) bring together their own crew in response — with the help of Bombay, of course. If that's your idea of top-notch nostalgic viewing, you'll be pleased to know that the series has just been renewed for a second season. Yes, there'll be more ice rink escapades, as The Hollywood Reporter reports. Exactly when the new episodes will hit Disney+ hasn't yet been revealed, but you can add it to your future watch list anyway. Check out the full trailer for the show's first season below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZTouNvgPCM&feature=youtu.be The second season of The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers doesn't yet have a release date; however, the first season is currently streaming via Disney+. Via The Hollywood Reporter. Top image: Disney+.
Head to Melbourne's Reine and La Rue for a French meal in the luxe surroundings of the neo-gothic Melbourne Stock Exchange building, or to Purple Pit in the same abode for Euro-style cocktails, and you'll be eating and drinking at Australia's two most-stylish hospitality venues for 2024. At this year's Australian Interior Design Awards, which were announced on Friday, June 14 in Sydney, the pair shared the Hospitality Design accolade in a night that showered plenty of love upon Victorian locations. A house in Northcote earned the top award at this year's ceremony, the Premier Award for Australian Interior Design. Unsurprisingly, it also took out the Residential Design Award, although it had company there with a a New South Wales abode named Daddy Cool. And if you're wondering what makes a home dazzle so much that it's considered the absolute pinnacle of interior design in Australia for the past year, Northcote House earned praise for boasting an "exciting collision of technology, sculpture and innovative material use" — and also for its "unfamiliar yet captivating interior spaces". [caption id="attachment_962126" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Reine and La Rue, Tim Salisbury[/caption] Now in its 21st year, AIDA highlights spectacular decor in shops, workplaces, homes and public settings. When it revealed its shortlisted picks for this year in April, it whittled down its choices to 222 projects from around the country (plus a few overseas that spring from local talent), which is a record for the awards. Back in the Hospitality Design field, four other venues received commendations, giving the revamped Gerard's in Brisbane, Bar Besuto in Sydney, The Sporting Club Hotel in Melbourne and Bambino in Vietnam some affection. [caption id="attachment_962130" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Northcote House, Tom Ross[/caption] In the Retail Design category, the flagship store for fashion outfit Song for the Mute in George Street in Sydney did the honours, with the city's LeTAO getting a commendation alongside Melbourne's Pidapipó Laboratorio, July at QVM and Up There. The list of award-winning spots — and commended ones — that the public can easily check out includes the Public Design field, where the Berninneit Cultural and Community Centre on Phillip Island in Victoria emerged victorious. The Art Gallery of New South Wales' library and members lounge scored a commendation, as did the Memorial Hall at Christ Church Grammar School in Melbourne and The Embassy of Australia in Washington DC in the US. [caption id="attachment_962131" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Song for the Mute, Tom Ross[/caption] While you can't head along anymore, the Installation Design Award went to the design wall championing Melbourne-born product designs at the National Gallery of Victoria, in a category that commended the Community Hall at the NGV's 2023 Melbourne Now exhibition, as well as Zampatti Powerhouse — a retrospective devoted to fashion designer Carla Zampatti — at Sydney's Powerhouse Museum. The Australian Interior Design Awards also make state-by-state choices from both commercial and residential premises, with plenty of the above spots also popping up. In Victoria, Reine and La Rue and Northcote House topped the list, while 477 Pitt Street and Daddy Cool were NSW's picks, and Gerard's and a Gold Coast apartment were Queensland;s. Vin Populi and Proclamation House did the honours in Western Australia, as did the Samstag Museum of Art at University of South Australia and Stirling Residence in SA. [caption id="attachment_962127" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Gerard's, David Chatfield[/caption] [caption id="attachment_962128" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Bar Besuto, Damian Bennett[/caption] [caption id="attachment_962129" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Sporting Club Hotel, Derek Stawell[/caption] For the full Australian Interior Design Awards 2024 winners, head to the AIDA website. Top image: Purple Pit, Peter Clarke Photography.
Father's Day is a holiday that tends to really sneak up on you. One minute you think you have weeks to plan something, the next it's tomorrow and you've completely spaced on getting dad a gift. Dad might be happy with another barbecue set, apron, bottle of whiskey or a voucher for BCF, but if you really want to impress him, we have an idea. There's a good chance your dad isn't a "stuff" guy, he might want some quality time. You could settle for a bike ride or get dinner, but how about something more special? How about a helicopter flight, a rally driving race or a scuba diving session? An adrenaline-packed experience is the kind of quality time dad deserves. That's why we've teamed up with Adrenaline this Father's Day to make it happen with an exclusive giveaway. Fill out the form below, and you'll officially enter the running to win a $500 Adrenaline voucher, plus a GoPro Hero 13 and accessory bundle, so you can take dad on an adventure and capture every minute of it on camera. If all else fails, get dad an Adrenaline gift voucher, it's delivered instantly and valid for up to five years. To put your name into the running, fill out the form below before Sunday, August 31. [competition]1011630[/competition]
UPDATE, August 14, 2023: Tickets are getting snapped up fast for Flight Facilities' tour, with new shows announced. This article has been updated to include the additional dates. Flight Facilities know how to get a party started. The Australian producer duo, aka Hugo and Jimmy, have spent more than a decade inspiring folks to make shapes to the pair's own tunes. Given that they began mixing other artists, it's hardly surprising that they're also playlist and mixtape maestros. See: their Decades Mix series, which has spoiled listeners with six hour-long, decade-spanning surveys. If it's a dancefloor filler from 1962 to 2022, the odds are that it has featured in one of Flight Facilities' odes, with separate mixes for 1962–72, 1972–82, 1982–92, 1992–2002, 2002–12 and 2012–22. And, if it's a track from the 1970s to now that's made the cut, it's also likely that it'll get a spin on Flight Facilities' just-announced latest DJ tour, which is all about its Decades mixes. Fuelled by crate digging, this trip around Australia will jump through hundreds of tracks across extended club sets throughout October. First up: Brisbane's Fortitude Music Hall, before Flight Facilities head southward from Byron Bay's Beach Hotel to Melbourne Pavilion. Also on the itinerary: going west over to Rechabite Hall in Perth and Freo.Social in Fremantle, a stint at Adelaide's Harvest Rock, and both Town Hall and Liberty Hall carpark in Sydney. Start guessing which tunes will get a whirl now. The 72–82 mix spans everything from Stevie Wonder's 'Superstition' to Queen and David Bowie's 'Under Pressure', while the 82–92 list includes New Order's 'Blue Monday', Madonna's 'Lucky Star', Prince's 'Cream' and Technotronic's 'Pump Up the Jam'. Among the 92–02 roster: Arrested Development's 'Mr Wendal', Beastie Boys' 'Body Movin'', 2Pac's 'How Do U Want It?' and The Avalanches' 'Frontier Psychiatrist'. And, from 02–12, the mix starts with Chemical Brothers' 'Star Guitar' and ends with Flight Facilities' own 'Clair De Lune'. The duo only dropped the 12–22 mix in July, so heading along to these gigs means hearing Flight Facilities' absolute latest blast from the past. FLIGHT FACILITIES — THE DECADES TOUR: Friday, October 6 — Fortitude Music Hall, Brisbane Saturday, October 7 — Beach Hotel, Byron Bay Thursday, October 12 — Sydney Town Hall, Sydney — NEW DATE Friday, October 19 — Melbourne Pavilion, Melbourne — NEW DATE Friday, October 20 — Melbourne Pavilion, Melbourne — SOLD OUT Saturday, October 21 — Rechabite Hall, Perth — SOLD OUT Sunday, October 22 — Freo.Social, Fremantle — NEW DATE Saturday, October 28 — Harvest Rock, Adelaide Sunday, October 29 — Liberty Hall Carpark, Sydney — SOLD OUT Flight Facilities will take The Decades Tour around Australia in October 2023. Head to the Secret Sounds website for further details, and tickets from 10am AEST on Friday, August 11.
With Splendour in the Grass and other winter festivals approaching, you're going to need a little more than a tent - even if it is one of the adorable Fieldcandy tents that we found the other week. There's still campfire eating to think about, as well as that necessary cup of caffeine after a night spent in the great outdoors. Thanks to the creative and over-the-top genius of these 10 'glamping' products, this list will have you covered. 1. Bell Tent Recall the circus of yesteryear in a retro striped bell tent. All that is missing is the bedecked elephants. 2. Faux-Fur Throw What better than a faux-fur blanket to keep the winter chill out? Your inner diva needs it. 3. Wine Glass Clamp You've reclined into the comfy canvas recesses of your camping chair. But where to place your glass of pinot? An age old dilemma solved with a simple clamp that can attach to just about any camping chair. 4. Star Solar Lights Keep the stars with you on a cloudy camping night, or even inside your tent. This outdoor string of star-shaped is powered by a separate solar panel and will light automatically when the sun goes down, lending your campsite a magical feel. 5. Heart-Shaped Marshmallow Toasting Fork As if s'mores could get any better, you can now toast your marshmallows on a heart-shaped stick. 6. Cafe Latte Set There is no need to compromise on the quality of your coffee just because you are outdoors. This set contains a French press and a milk foamer to satisfy even the most hardened coffee snob. 7. Portable BBQ Grill This retro and portable grill is too cute. Perfect for roasting burgers and hotdogs! 8. Phone-Charging Gumboots Even the most avid campers miss their mobiles when roughing it. Keep yours charged with these functional and fashionable wellies. After a day full of running around at a festival, simply slide your phone into the charger at the top of the boot, where it will receive a charge from heat energy you have generated all day.
From boozy mini-golf spots to beer-fuelled pinball and gaming dens to circus-style arcade joints, Brisbane's themed bar scene has been booming over the past few years. And, it shows no signs of stopping — by the time summer hits, the city will also be home to an inner-city escape room that doubles as an underground watering hole, too. Set to open in Spring Hill this spring, Arcadium Adventures will transform the basement of Wickham Terrace's heritage-listed Espie Dods House into a place for cracking puzzles and knocking back cocktails. You'll be able to work your way through two spaces within the site to begin with, with a third set to launch in 2020. Beverage-wise, there'll be locally brewed beers, spirits and drinks inspired by the immersive escape room experiences. While just what the escape rooms will entail hasn't yet been revealed, each experience will run for 50 minutes and will use augmented reality to add an extra dimension to the fun. You'll also have two options: play your way through an individual escape room as a stand-alone endeavour, or work your way through the whole place with all of Arcadium Adventures' experiences taking place in the same universe. As for the bar, it'll seat 40 and will be available to hire for events. If finding clues and having a few drinks is your idea of a celebration, then you'll be in the right spot. Arcadium Adventures is the work of Gabrielle Lim, who also has a hand in Melbourne's Trapt Bar and Escape Rooms. The Victorian spot boasts 'Alchemy'-themed rooms, which nod to a certain beloved boy wizard in more than a few ways, so here's hoping that something similar makes the jump to Brisbane. https://www.facebook.com/traptmelbourne/videos/1464549976988055/ Arcadium Adventures is slated to open at 97 Wickham Terrace, Spring Hill this spring — we'll update you with an opening date when it is announced.
Sounds like a branding exercise, but there really is a brand new vegetable on the block; a teeny tiny new development dubbed lollipop kale, currently under development in Australia, the UK and US right now. And it's possibly the most adorable thing we've seen in many a day — even if it's almost a Brussels sprout. Lollipop kale is indeed a thing — one gaining predictable popularity in the US, UK and now, South Australia and Victoria. Developed as a hybrid by British company Tozer Seeds, lollipop kale is now known as kale sprout (boring) in Australia and kalette (better) in the US. A form of cross-breeding between kale and Brussels sprouts (so you'll actually eat 'em), lollipop kale is currently being developed by a cluey South Australian grower. Adelaide Hills grower Scott Samwell, of Eastbook Farms in Mount Barker, has been upping the ante on his lollipop kale plantings over the last two years. Samwell told the ABC the lollipop kale grows sort of like a Brussels sprout — tiny bunches growing from a central stem, growing to around a metre tall. Apparently the new veggie has been getting good reviews in South Australian and Victorian markets, where the mini-kale has been available. "Everyone we've spoken to who has tried it, especially in the local area, are very keen on it." he told ABC. "It's a different tasting product, compared to green Brussels sprouts, because it's a bit sweeter." According to Grub Street, lollipop kale was the centre of mere whisperings in the food community — and wholly doubted and denied by chefs. GS's Hugh Merwin described it as the Bigfoot of the vegetable world — appearing in fruit exchanges around America and then suddenly becoming unattainable. But now it's here, ready for 'hipster' brandings and total hater ridicule. Being so teeny tiny, lollipop kale is primed for the home roasting — more bite-sized and considerably more adorable than your regular freaky kale chips. Right now, however, growing lollipop kale at home is pretty expensive — GS noted that online vegetable message boards (an actual Thing) criticised the high cost of the seeds; $11 for 40 seeds. So expect to see higher prices on Australian menus for the bite-sized little blighters. Lollipop kale will supposedly be available on the Australian market this year. Via ABC and Grub Street. Image: Hugh Merwin, Grub Street.
There's a knowing bit of casting at the heart of Yellowjackets for viewers who've been following Melanie Lynskey throughout her career. In the hit TV series — one of the best shows of 2021 when it first debuted, and equally as excellent in its just-arrived second season — the New Zealand actor plays Shauna, a New Jersey housewife and mother. Enlisting Lynskey in anything is always welcome, as everything from But I'm a Cheerleader and Up in the Air to I Don't Feel At Home in This World Anymore and Candy has proven. It's one of Yellowjackets' many strokes of genius with its stacked on-screen talent, which also includes Juliette Lewis (Welcome to Chippendales) and Christina Ricci (Wednesday). But it's a particularly savvy move to cast Lynskey as a woman who was once a teen stranded in the Canadian wilderness for 19 months, forced to do whatever it took to remain alive after her high-school soccer team's plane crashed, and has since spent a quarter-century since grappling with what came next. Lynskey herself was once a movie-starring teenager, debuting in Peter Jackson's Heavenly Creatures opposite Kate Winslet. There, she was a murderous teen, too, and kicked off her penchant for playing immensely complicated women (so much so that she earned a New Zealand Film and TV Award for her efforts). The glorious symmetry with Lynskey's role in Yellowjackets doesn't end there, however. As the adult Shauna — Monsieur Lazhar and The Book Thief's Sophie Nélisse plays the younger version — she's commanding and compelling in every scene as someone who survived having her life turned upside down, as Lynskey clearly did when she was thrust to fame at a young age. Of course, there's a vast difference between becoming a film star before you're old enough to drink and endeavouring to endure in spooky woods, through freezing winters, and with food in scarce supply — and, as Yellowjackets keeps hinting at, perhaps turning to cannibalism. Still, Lynskey couldn't be a better fit for the Emmy-nominated show's present-day timeline. There's not just complexity but persistence, strength and vulnerability in her portrayal. They've long been hallmarks of her work. Shauna has trekked over life's peaks and valleys, and knows that her journey onwards will never just be simple. Yellowjackets doesn't lack in phenomenal performances — with its packed team of talent playing both its teens and its adults, how could it? — but Lynskey is downright magnetic. With Yellowjackets' eagerly-anticipated return, its NZ star is also two for two on small screens in 2023. This year's big new hit also featured Lynskey in a pivotal part, and also in a survivalist thriller. She isn't the lead of The Last of Us' first season, but she left a firm mark as resistance leader Kathleen. She also hasn't been diving into this genre repeatedly on purpose. Ahead of Yellowjackets' season two debut on Friday, March 24 via Paramount+ in Australia and Neon in New Zealand, we chatted with Lynskey about that, being hooked on Yellowjackets since reading the very first script, having an instinct for killer roles and more. ON HER CURRENT SPATE OF SURVIVALIST STORIES When you've been a working actor for almost three decades, as Lynskey has since 1994's Heavenly Creatures, you're a survivor of sorts. Actively embracing on-screen stories about trying to endure through extreme events wasn't a concerted choice, however. You could throw in her part in Don't Look Up, too — but having two strong survivalist stories in Yellowjackets and The Last of Us is just a result of great roles coming her way, Lynskey notes. "I think it's just coincidence. I mean, for the character obviously in Yellowjackets, the survivalist part has already happened — so that's an interesting thing, and I think now I'm sort of grappling with the trauma of the aftermath." "And in The Last of Us, the character is in the middle of this crazy, apocalyptic scenario, so it feels like different kind of experiences of a similar thing." "But, it's interesting. It's fun to play kind of an ordinary person who is put into an extraordinary circumstance — and wonder how does that shape and change them." ON HER FIRST REACTION TO YELLOWJACKETS Survivalist thrillers might be having a moment on Lynskey's resume, but she was drawn to Yellowjackets based purely on the strength of its script. "Well, the main thing I think is that I finished reading it and I wished I had episode two, which is a good sign," she explains — having the same reaction to the show's debut episode that viewers everywhere did. "I wanted to know what was going to happen next. And I was like 'oh that was well-written'. It was really well-written!" "And as far as my character goes, there was something about her — you know, you see her in her domestic life, and then the scene with Taissa (Tawny Cypress, Billions) in the diner, you realise she has a huge amount of power somehow. And people are quite afraid of her." "And I was like 'oh that's interesting, like how did that happen and when did that end — or did it end?'. I just had so many questions. And it was a little bit of a leap of faith, but I'm very happy that I chose to do it." ON WHAT SHE LOOKS FOR IN A ROLE Lynskey's career isn't short on highlights between Heavenly Creatures and Yellowjackets. She's just as exceptional in two-season 2015–16 HBO dramedy Togetherness, and in parts big and small in Shattered Glass, Happy Christmas, Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later, Easy and Mrs America, too — just to name a few standouts on her resume. She puts her stellar choices down to going with her gut. "It's honestly an instinct. I just have to, when I'm reading it, if I start to read it out loud and a personality comes out of me. Or if there's like a voice — if there's some shape to what I'm reading where I feel like organically it can be created from me, then I'm interested." "If I'm just reading something and reading it as a script, and I start to think about how I could make it work or how I would play that part, then I know it's not a good fit for me." "It has to be something that comes — even Two and a Half Men, the first time I read the pilot for that, I just started to read it aloud, like the person just came off the page to me. So it's just an instinct, really." ON YELLOWJACKETS' COMPLICATED AND FULLY FLESHED-OUT WOMEN Yellowjackets has been likened to Lord of the Flies since day one thanks to its 90s-era woodland savagery between school students. One big difference: seeing girls, not boys, stuck in the woods and falling prey to their worst impulses to get by. That feels revolutionary in the series. It shouldn't, but it does. And, asked if the show's strong and complex female focus was part of the appeal, Lynskey is adamant: "very much — it was very much a draw." "I think the main thing about it was, in reading the script all the women were so fully realised. Even the smaller parts, the characters who didn't have that much to do in the pilot, or the younger cast — I understood them as human beings. I understood them as complex creations. And there were no sort of stereotypes." "There was no like 'here is the pretty one, here is the bitchy one, here is the whatever', you know. Everyone was very, very complicated and I felt like I had an understanding of who all of them were after the first episode — which is kind of a feat of writing wizardry, honestly." "So I was really, really intrigued to see writers [series creators Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson, who've previously written for Narcos, Narcos: Mexico and Dispatches From Elsewhere] who were that talented, who could give so much depth within one episode, to see where they would take all these different characters." "Because it's a lot to juggle with so many different characters — and they've done an amazing job, I think, of managing all the different storylines." Season two of Yellowjackets streams weekly from Friday, March 24 via Paramount+ in Australia and Neon in New Zealand. Read our review of season two — and our review of season one. Images: Colin Bentley, Kailey Schwerman and Lorenzo Agius/Showtime.
Melbourne street artist Rone has completed his latest and most industrious work to date, a nine-storey portrait in Melbourne’s CBD. Sitting at 35 metres high and 23.5 metres wide, the gargantuan face of Byron Bay model Teresa Oman looms from the external wall of 80 Collins Street. Based on a photograph Rone had taken of "one of the most re-blogged models in the world" according to Nylon, the work sports the title, L’inconnue de la rue (unknown girl in the street). The colossal mural, commissioned by wall owner QIC Global Real Estate, took seven days to create, with Rone working for ten hours a day from a cherry picker until the wall was complete. "It took a lot longer than expected and was no doubt the most challenging project I had ever taken on," said the Melburnian muralist on his website. "This is one of those walls you dream of. When it was offered I took it with a grain of salt as not to get my hopes up, as there has been a few things like this talked about in the past that just never happened." Long celebrated Melbourne-wide for his signature style of tightly cropped, magnified portraits of glamorous female faces on crumbling walls, Rone’s work has expanded from local lanes to interstate spots in Adelaide and Sydney to the streets of Berlin, Port Vila, Queenstown and Miami. Rone will now return to London, where his first UK solo exhibition Wallflower at Stolen Space Gallery opens April 10. Images by Ben Wesley and Tony Owczarek. via Lost At E Minor.
"Does it always have to end up in a big giant dance battle?" asks the latest Step Up film, Step Up All In. Yes, that's an actual line of dialogue in a movie about trading fancy footwork for supremacy. The feature's Moose (Adam G. Sevani) poses the question to his ragtag gang of friends when yet another squabble sees them settling things on the dance floor. In doing so, he becomes the series' most self-aware expression, as well as the clearest enunciation of its purpose. Dance battles — plus contests, trials, tryouts, auditions, and any other competitive outlets — remain prominent not only to showcase performers' skills and add drama but to allow something to be dreamed about and aspired to, then achieved, attained and overcome. So if you've seen even one dance movie, whether from the Step Up franchise or any other (or even just Zoolander or Guardians of the Galaxy), then you know that yes, it does always have to end up in a big giant dance battle. Of course, there's more to be learned from the many efforts that have shuffled across screens since the days of Busby Berkley, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. What other important knowledge do dance films impart? We trawled through the best and worst to find out. Nobody should stay in the corner If there's one lesson the Step Up franchise preaches again and again, it's that playing by the rules doesn't offer a path to glory. If the first film's hero, played by Channing Tatum, hadn't vandalised a prestigious performing arts school and been burdened with helping clean up as punishment, the entire course of the series may have changed — and Tatum may not have become the cinema superstar he now is today. Indeed, he peddled the same message in the semi-autobiographical Magic Mike, where working a stripping job frowned upon by most offers the titular character his only hope of earning enough money to finance his dream business. Tatum is following in formidable footsteps, with ignoring instructions a dance movie staple across all possible extremes of the subgenre. In family-oriented effort Girls Just Want to Have Fun, a young Sarah Jessica Parker constantly falls afoul of her dad in her efforts to dance, while in Dario Argento's horror film Suspiria, an American ballet student in Munich finds out the truth about her new school when she flouts the rules and sneaks around. Perhaps the best-known instance comes from that perennial favourite, Dirty Dancing. Everyone remembers when Baby (Jennifer Grey) disregarded her father's decree that she stay away from bad boy dance instructor Johnny Castle (Patrick Swayze), and when she wouldn't stay in the corner. (No one remembers when Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights unsuccessfully tried to recreate the same scenario.) Stick it (or step up) to the man In the fourth Step Up film (known as Step Up Revolution and Step Up: Miami Heat in differing parts of the world) it's not just a competition the dance crew seeks to win, though that's obviously part of the equation. In an oft-used scenario, they also square off in an against-the-odds battle with a heartless property developer threatening to gentrify their neighbourhood. Filmed flashmob-style performances help them wage both wars, providing contest entries and disrupting their nemeses efforts, but it is the challenge to authority that resonates as the feature's strongest statement. Dancers just don't know how to lie down for the man, so it seems, with putting bodies on the line their favourite form of fight. Step Up 3D, Honey and Centre Stage: Turn It Up also offer variations on rallying against authority, while an attempt to stop a corporation destroying a Brazilian rainforest drives The Forbidden Dance (a barely recalled effort attempting to cash in on the lambada craze, but the one that isn't called Lambada). And if there's one thing Footloose cemented in the consciousness of multiple generations, first in 1984 and again in the 2011 remake, it's that anyone who dares bans dancing must be defied, confronted and trounced. Stop, collaborate and listen Part of the fun of the Step Up series as it has continued is its unashamed amalgam of styles and genres. Never afraid to try something new and different when it comes to the dance scenes, if nothing else, the films themselves offer an inventive array of settings and show a wide range of sources of inspiration. Step Up All In's first breakout sequence ramps up the horror in a striking mad professor's laboratory number, while its climax sees its characters see past their rivalries to embody the same maxim in the story as well as the aesthetic. The movie is in good company, with seminal 1980s feature Breakin' teaming breakdancing with jazz ballet, Save the Last Dance's entire conceit based around the pairing of classical and ballet, and even Australia's own Strictly Ballroom introducing a Spanish influence into the titular type of dancing. Other features have interpreted the concept a little differently, but still with the same result. In Black Swan, a shy but ambitious ballerina must channel her dark side and break free from her prim and proper facade to get the lead in a production. The Full Monty saw middle-aged men get their gear off to make money after becoming casualties of Sheffield's declining steel industry. Mad About Mambo found football skills in samba. Recent release Cuban Fury tasked Nick Frost's uncharacteristic romantic lead with overcoming a childhood fear of salsa dancing to earn respect and pursue love. https://youtube.com/watch?v=j8XGmZ8HDIU There'll never be a crisis you can't dance your way out of The catharsis of getting your groove on has become so embedded in the dance film genre that almost every movie has its own example. Diving into your passion as an escape from your problems is sound advice; if movies have taught us anything, you'll emerge with a clearer head at the very least. The quintessential angry dancing scene from Footloose has become so iconic that Kevin Bacon once again kicked off his Sunday shoes to recreate it — well, with the help of a double — on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon to celebrate the film's 30th anniversary earlier this year. The High School Musical movies gave Zac Efron not one but two opportunities to express his ire, the third film's moving feast of fury far superior to the second film's weak wander around a golf course. Andrea Arnold's excellent social realist effort Fish Tank shows a more serious side as its teen protagonist copes with her ills — including a liaison with Michael Fassbender — through hip-hop dancing. The trope has also been parodied in Hot Rod, where Andy Samberg's wannabe daredevil punch-dances out some anger in the forest, as well as TV's Flight of the Conchords in a number called Bret's Angry Dance. Cult comedy hit The FP took dancing through a crisis to the other extreme, with its characters forced onto their feet — duelling in an arcade game called Beat-Beat Revelation — to survive. Just do it Working as a welder by day and an exotic dancer by night, but dreaming of a more traditional way to tap your toes? Moved to the big city with stars in your eyes, but not sure if you have what it takes to give it a go? Flashdance, Burlesque and the aptly titled Make it Happen each offer a fictional testament to trying instead of wondering, as does almost every film in the subgenre that culminates in a competition: think Battle of the Year, Streetdance, Stomp the Yard, How She Move and even Take the Lead's Antonio Banderas-led ballroom dancing-focused effort, all of which address self-doubt and champion taking a chance. Billy Elliott shows just what can eventuate if, struggling valiantly through all obstacles in your way, you make it to the top of your chosen field. In Silver Linings Playbook, the stakes and the outcome are much more modest, but even securing a sense of achievement is worth the effort.
Heartbreak High obsessives, your time is now: the 90s favourite has been revived by Netflix, bringing a new generation of Hartley High dramas into your streaming queue. Let's be honest — if you loved the show since way back when, it's always been your time; however, now you can experience the ups and downs of the Aussie series' next batch of high schoolers. A fan since the OG run, and always wished you lived in the show when you were at school? Just discovered the homegrown classic via the new version? Either way, if you're in Sydney on Saturday, September 17–Sunday September 18, you can nab some free threads to look the part. Netflix loves launching its big titles with pop-ups, and this one's no different — joining its The Gray Man barber, Stranger Things rift and Squid Game doll over the past 12 months. One thing that this boasts that those others didn't? That free clothing, with 1000 pieces up for grabs all up. Head along and you too can look like you've just stepped out of class — at a school that doesn't have a uniform, aka most teenagers' dream. Netflix has badged the pop-up a 'uniform shop' to fit the theme, though, but the range includes local designers and keenly sought-after thrifted items. Sydneysiders and folks who happen to be in town for the weekend just need to make a trip to 520 King Street in Newtown, where the thrift shop will be handing out pieces by HoMie, Clothing The Gaps, Jody Just, Off White and more. It's a first come, first served affair, and there'll be 500 pieces on offer each day. So, as always with give aways, getting in early during the shop's 10am–6pm operating hours is recommended. Given that the new version of Heartbreak High decks out its characters in everything from bursts of colour to grunge 90s attire, expect a variety of styles on offer. And, expect free temporary tattoos, too, as well as a photographer capturing high school portraits. If you haven't started your new Heartbreak High binge yet — which revives the 1994–99 show, which itself was a spinoff from the Claudia Karvan- and Alex Dimitriades-starring 1993 movie The Heartbreak Kid, which adapted the 1987 play of the same name — it starts with an unexpected fight between best friends Amerie (Ayesha Madon, The Moth Effect) and Harper (Asher Yasbincek, How to Please a Woman), plus a sex map charting who's hooked up with hook among Hartley High's year 11 students. Yes, that map is part of the Newton pop-up's artwork. Find the Heartbreak High Uniform Shop at 520 King Street, Newtown, Sydney from 10am–6pm on Saturday, September 17–Sunday September 18. Heartbreak High is available to stream via Netflix — read our full review.
Not all rocky road is created equal. Noosa Chocolate Factory's version — one of the reasons that the chain has a considerable following — uses soft handcrafted marshmallows atop strawberry jelly that's made from the brand's secret recipe, then covered in its small-batch chocolate. It's whipped up daily, then cut up in-store. It's also reason enough to head to Noosa Chocolate Factory's newest outpost, which is now open in Brisbane Arcade. 2024 marks 15 years since southeast Queensland's tastebuds first scored the Noosa Chocolate Factory experience — with stores now operating in Noosaville, where its factory is located, as well as Maroochydore, Adelaide Street in the Brisbane CBD and Brisbane Arcade. At the latest shop, both bestsellers and seasonal hits are the focus. And yes, launching in the lead up to festive season isn't by accident. "We're thrilled to add a new store to our Noosa Chocolate Factory family in Brisbane Arcade just in time for Christmas. The arcade is a year-round destination for locals and visitors, but especially at this time of year, when people flock to get photos of its famous Christmas decorations," said Noosa Chocolate Factory General Manager Nick Southon. On the store's shelves, you'll find freeze-dried strawberries covered with white chocolate, plus mango macadamias, marbled hazelnuts, roasted pecans, semi-dried blueberries and plenty more — including hampers for gift-giving. Indeed, the brand expects the latter to be popular, forecasting to sell 22,000 of them. While you'll still need to hit up Adelaide Street just a stone's throw away for Noosa Chocolate Factory's coffees and hot chocolates from its Brisbane cafe, adding a new River location comes after a fruitful year for the chain, even considering current economic conditions. "Despite cost-of-living prices, we have seen a significant increase in footfall to all retail spaces across Noosa, the Sunshine Coast and Brisbane," explains Southon. "We know anecdotally that consumers are seeking out quality and locally made food products. Gifts are increasing in popularity as people are potentially spending less per gift but still giving quality products that they're proud to share." Find Noosa Chocolate Factory's Brisbane Arcade store at 160 Queen Street, Brisbane — open 9am–5pm Monday–Thursday and Saturday, 9am–9pm Friday and 10am–4pm Sunday. Head to the chain's website for more details.
Take a seat. Please, I insist, just so that you can jump out of it and celebrate in true headbanging style at the news that Nine Inch Nails and Queens of the Stone Age are heading Down Under in 2014 for a co-headline tour. Okay, now take a seat again and continue to read on. Two of the biggest acts in alternative rock are set to arrive on our shores in March next year. This is glorious news to Oceania fans who haven't seen Nine Inch Nails since 2009 and Queens of the Stone Age since 2011. Both bands have teased since May about heading this way, when Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme told triple j's Tom and Alex, "Everybody who knows me knows that Australia is my home away from home. I also think it's time that we come and tell our own stories, so we're gonna skip the round of festivals and see you in your fall." Nine Inch Nails lead Trent Reznor then revealed his band's intentions to head down under when they turned down Soundwave in favour of a "better scenario" for fans. Well, there is no better scenario than seeing them combine with QOTSA for a tour that is sure to go down in legend. The tour comes on the back of Nine Inch Nails' and QOTSA's recent respective releases, the much-heralded Hesitation Marks and ...Like Clockwork, and they will be joined on stage by Australian-born Brody Dalle, Mrs Josh Homme, of The Distillers and Spinnerette fame. Which one of the two bands will play first each night? That will be left to a flip of the coin. Seriously.
What do slicing-and-dicing villains in horror movies and Monster Fest's annual weekend-long mini film festival have in common? Both can strike at any time. Each year, usually at the end of the year, the broader fest showcases genre and cult movies — but it also pops up before then to host Monster Fest Weekender. In 2023, the latter took place in winter. In 2024, it's bringing the scares, plus a focus on slasher films, in autumn. If you like frightening flicks, then you'll want to make a date with Event Cinemas Brisbane City from Friday, May 3–Sunday, May 5. Across three days, just one type of horror film will be on offer — and yes, of course the lineup includes Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th titles, as well as a Sleepaway Camp marathon. Wes Craven's Freddy Krueger franchise is represented with both the OG A Nightmare on Elm Street and also 1994's New Nightmare, each of which are marking anniversaries — 40 and 30 years, respectively. Prefer movies about Jason Voorhees instead? Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter is also on the bill, and also celebrating its 40th anniversary. Other pictures that'll get the projectors whirring at Monster Fest Weekender: Slasher Edition span Deranged, which commemorates its 50th anniversary with the first-ever showing of its complete and uncut version in Australian cinemas — and I, Madman, which has also never been seen in Aussie picture palaces. And if you can handle the Sleepaway Camp Slash-athon, it features the first, second and third films.
In the heart of Queensland, you'll find Longeach. A historical outback town brimming with history, culture, and rugged natural beauty. Known for its rich pioneering past and vibrant community spirit, this remote destination offers an authentic taste of Australia's vast interior. Whether you're fascinated by the outback lifestyle and aviation history, or simply looking for a serene escape under endless skies, Longreach will charm you with its warm hospitality and unique experiences. How to Get There? Located about 1,200km from Brisbane, reaching Longreach can be an adventure in itself. Visitors can catch regular flights from Townsville and Brisbane. However, be mindful when packing, small planes and outback conditions call for packing light. Products like Samsonite's Restackd luggage system, with its built-in packing cubes, will make organising your belongings a breeze — ideal for outback journeys. For a more scenic journey, hop aboard the historic Spirit of the Outback train from Brisbane to Longreach. It's the only sleeper train in Queensland and the 26-hour ride covers 1300 kilometres of ever-changing scenery through the heart of the state. Step Back in Time The region is rich in Aussie history. No visit to Longreach is complete without exploring the Qantas Founders Museum — it'll be hard to miss as you'll pass it as soon as you land on the tarmac of the airport. The museum was established by locals to preserve the story of Australia's national airline. Get up close to iconic aircraft like the retired Boeing 747 and 707displayed against the red dirt background. A definite must-see for aviation and history enthusiasts alike. Across the street, the Australian Stockman's Hall of Fame offers another unmissable experience, chronicling the lives of Australia's pioneering outback drovers, stockmen and women. Attend live demonstrations of horsemanship, sheep shearing and bush skills which offer a glimpse into the tough yet rewarding life on the land. If you've got extra time, head out to Drover's Cottage, the original information centre setting built by R.M. Williams. It was restored to its original character and now houses Stockman's library collection. The sandstone cottage offers an insight into the outback lifestyle and Williams' enduring influence on Australian outdoor culture. Div even deeper into Longreach's history with a visit to the Powerhouse Museum, which tells the story of how electricity came to the outback. The museum features vintage machinery, vehicles, and fascinating displays of early 20th-century technology that powered the town's development. Explore the Rugged Region Start in the centre of town on bustling Swan Street to admire its newest artwork created by renowned mural artist Jarad Danby and commissioned by Great Northern Brewing Co. to celebrate the launch of Long Run, a Queensland-exclusive lager inspired by the pioneering spirit of the outback. The mural blends classical realism with contemporary styles and tells the story of Longreach's connection to the outback and stands as a permanent fixture in the town centre, adding a vibrant touch to the local landscape. For a relaxing experience, take a Thomson River cruise at sunset, where you can admire the breathtaking outback scenery while learning about the region's history from local guides. Finish the evening with a traditional campfire dinner, complete with billy tea and damper, under a sky ablaze with stars. Get your hands dirty as you experience a working cattle station with a visit to Camden Park Station, just outside Longreach. You'll hear captivating stories of outback life, see cattle mustering in action, and witness the impressive 100-year-old homestead where royalty once dined. It's a chance to connect with the outback lifestyle and enjoy the genuine hospitality of the outback. You can even camp at the cattle station for a truly immersive adventure. Where to Eat Longreach may be a small town, but it has no shortage of hearty, delicious meals. Start your day with a pastry from Merino Bakery and a strong coffee at The Branch — a local favourite known for its wholesome breakfasts, tasty lunches, delectable dinners and creative cocktails. Another eatery for your itinerary is the award-winning Harry's Restaurant, just across the road from the historic Longreach Railway Station. The restaurant is named for local legend Harry Redford, also known as Captain Starlight. At Harry's, you can enjoy modern Australian fare made with fresh, seasonal (and local) produce. Don't miss a visit to The Woolshed Restaurant, where you can enjoy an authentic outback dining experience with a menu focused on slow-cooked meats and classic Aussie sides — you might even be dazzled by local country musicians. Where to Stay Longreach has a range of accommodation options that cater to all tastes and budgets. For a luxurious experience, try the Saltbush Retreat, which offers a myriad of accommodation options from its well-furnished rustic chic cabins to its comfortable cottages. There's a swimming pool on-site to cool off during the warm days and, it's basically across the road from the airport making travel time mere minutes. If you prefer something more central, Longreach Motor Inn is a popular choice with comfortable rooms and Harry's Restaurant on-site. There is secure on-street parking and if you're not driving you can avail of its free airport shuttle service. For those wanting to get closer to nature, Mitchell Grass Retreat offers a glamping experience that combines outback adventure with luxury. It's perfect for those who love the idea of camping but want to have a full bathroom to themselves. Each luxury tent has an ensuite bathroom, king-sized bed, bath and a private deck from where you can enjoy the views out to the Mitchell Grass Plains. Not a bad base for your outback adventure. Final Tips The best time to visit Longreach is during the cooler months, from April to September, when daytime temperatures are more pleasant, and evenings are crisp. Regardless of when you travel, pack for the heat. Even in the cooler months, daytime temperatures in Longreach can soar, so pack sunscreen, a hat and plenty of water. And finally, make time to meet the locals. The friendly and welcoming community is a highlight of the town. Keep an eye out for local celebrity Ollie, a Brahman bullock, and his owner stockman and entertainer John Hawkes. Ollie was orphaned at two days old and has been raised by Hawkes ever since. You might spy Hawkes riding Ollie through the down or chatting with other locals over a coffee accompanied by Hawkes' border collies, Henry, Arthur and Jane. From its fascinating aviation heritage to its stunning outback landscapes, Longreach is a destination that offers a true Australian adventure. Whether you're sipping a cold beer after a day of exploration or watching the sunset over the Thomson River, this town will captivate you with its charm, history and rugged beauty. Concrete Playground was invited to Longreach by Great Northern to celebrate the launch of The Long Run Lager.
Valley Fiesta is back for another year, which means oh-so-many bands and musos filling oh-so-many Fortitude Valley spaces with tunes. To kick off the 2022 event, it also means live music on King Street in Bowen Hills — which the Fiesta is clearly counting as the Valley for this occasion. And, that soundtrack will accompany a second fiesta: the King Street Food Fiesta. Stocking up on sustenance is always a smart idea to start any festival, so Valley Fiesta is beginning with an entire celebration dedicated to tasty bites. King Street's eateries will get in on the action, serving up tasting plates of their signature dishes right in front of their venues — with prices from $6. Running from 4–9pm on Friday, November 25, this food wonderland wants you to get wandering around the precinct, tucking into whatever tempts your tastebuds, and listening to live tunes — with a focus on Brisbane talents. That same spotlight will see King Street also play host to Brissie artists, and line the road with new art.
Everyone's favourite melancholic hitmaker Post Malone is returning to Australia for a second time in 2023. The global superstar was in the country in January and February supporting Red Hot Chili Peppers, but he must've enjoyed his time Down Under, because he's doing a run of headline Australian shows as part of his If Y'all Weren't Here I'd Be Crying world tour. Diamond-certified multiple times over, Posty will be hitting Brisbane Showgrounds on Thursday, November 23 — and also playing Spilt Milk, including on the Gold Coast, the same month. This tour is in support of Post Malone's fifth studio album Austin, which dropped in July featuring recent singles 'Mourning' and 'Chemical'. You can expect a career-spanning performance dipping into his most recent album, 2022's Twelve Carat Toothache, and his catalogue of global smashes like 'Congratulations', 'Rockstar', 'Sunflower' and 'Circles'.
In Stay of the Week, we explore some of the world's best and most unique accommodations — giving you a little inspiration for your next trip. In this instalment, we go to the luxe Anchorage Port Stephens hotel and spa overlooking the picturesque Nelson Bay. If Anchorage Port Stephens looks like your ideal summer vacay destination then head to Concrete Playground Trips, where you'll find our latest travel deal – including a night's stay at this boutique hotel, an epic buffet breakfast and a couple of complimentary cocktails on arrival. WHAT'S SO SPECIAL? This Hamptons-style hotel is the pinnacle of luxury waterside accommodation boasting rooms with uninterrupted sea views, a fine dining restaurant and a glamorous spa experience. It's made for out-of-towners who are looking to spoil themselves silly for a weekend away. THE ROOMS Room options abound at Anchorage Port Stephens. The classic Anchorage Room gives you most of the best bits, including a private balcony looking out over the marina and all the essential amenities – king-sized bed, large ensuite bathroom, aircon and your own coffee machine. You can also upgrade your stay by booking the large Family Room, the glam Master Suite or one of the separate lofts with bay windows that perfectly frame the gorgeous views. FOOD AND DRINK When staying here, you've got to dine at one of Anchorage's seafood-focused restaurants — both of which have won multiple hospitality awards. The Galley Kitchen is where you go for sophisticated all-day dining options that include seafood feasts, a special sparkling wine breakfast and a traditional afternoon tea. Either sit inside or dine by the pool terrace. And if you want to truly treat yourself, get dressed up for dinner at The Wild Herring. Locally sourced and sustainably fished seafood is presented in a myriad of inventive ways thanks to Executive Chef Michael Jenkins. The culinary experience is one of sophisticated fine dining, so it's recommended that guests travelling with children don't bring the kids along. [caption id="attachment_885378" align="alignnone" width="1920"] James Dorevski (Unsplash)[/caption] THE LOCAL AREA Port Stephens is just a two-and-a-half-hour drive from Sydney but, once you're there, it feels worlds away. Wander through town to browse the selection of charming boutiques or get in touch with nature by exploring the coastal bushland of Tomaree National Park and the clear blue waters. You'll also find several wineries and breweries in the area, so if you're up for sampling the local goods just head to the Anchorage Port Stephens concierge to organise an exclusive tour. THE EXTRAS If total rejuvenation is what you're after, a trip to the hotel's Spa Luca is on the cards. The spa has treatment rooms for singles and couples where you can experience massages, scrubs, wraps, facials and immersive ritual healings — the menu of treatment options is extensive. You'll also find a lavish whirlpool and steam room alongside a private relaxation room to help you stay in the calm bubble for as long as possible. Head to the Concrete Playground Trips website to book a lavish stay at at Anchorage Port Stephens.
It's already nicknamed the River City. It's also locked in for a stint as an Olympic city. Now, Queensland's capital will become the shimmering city, too, thanks to a new long-term after-dark light show. When Lumina Night Walk makes Brisbane its latest home, it'll get the Botanic Gardens at Mt Coot-tha aglow — and it won't just be sticking around for a few weeks or months. Brisbane City Council has announced that it approved an application on Friday, July 28 to establish a Lumina Night Walk in the inner-west spot, and for 150 evenings per year. The plan is to get the gardens looking luminous on Friday and Saturday nights, and also likely during school holidays, with attendees peering at eight light show stations across a one-kilometre path. The site's existing Gardens Explorer Trail will get the Lumina Night Walk treatment, with the light show stations being camouflaged from view. BCC advises that no plants or trees will be removed for the new attraction. Although no opening date has yet been announced, visitors will take 50–60 minutes to enjoy the experience, with between four and six sessions held every ten minutes each night that Brisbane's Lumina Night Walk runs. The River City joins seven locations in Canada, three in Japan, one in Singapore and another in France in boasting a Lumina Night Walk. Moment Factory, which keeps hosting radiant pop-ups to the Adelaide Botanic Gardens as part of the South Australian capital's winter Illuminate Adelaide festival, will design and produce the light show. The company's standard remit: getting botanical gardens, zoos, national parks and heritage sites dazzling, aka exactly what it's bringing to Brisbane. Brissie's Lumina Night Walk will be funded, installed and operated by Australian company LightDreaming, and BCC advises that the revenue that the council receives from LightDreaming will be put back into the gardens. And, it expects that taking a lit-up stroll will be popular, increasing the Mt Coot-tha location's visitors by up to 15 percent per year. Brisbane does love an excuse to bask in a glow, as Roma Street Parkland's annual end-of-year Enchanted Garden keeps proving to sellout crowds. Over at the Brisbane City Botanic Gardens, after-dark fest Botanica: Contemporary Art Outside shines a light — many, many lights — each year, too. And, during 2023's Brisbane Festival this September, Lightscape will come to town, setting up a two-kilometre trail of light and colour also at the Brisbane City Botanic Gardens on Alice Street in the CBD. Of course, shimmering sights aren't just a Brisbane favourite, as Lightscape's stints in Melbourne and Brisbane have proven, plus everything bathing both cities in radiance during their respective RISING and Vivid fests. Brisbane's Lumina Night Walk is planned as a tourist drawcard in the lead up to the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games, as one of many changes sweeping the city before, during and after the global sporting events. "Brisbane is Australia's fastest growing capital city and a world class night-time experience such as Lumina Night Walks will create more to see and do and make Brisbane an even better place to live and visit," said Deputy Mayor and Civic Cabinet Chair for Economic Development Councillor Krista Adams about the approved application. Among the other changes headed Brisbane's way: a two-level pavilion with a gin distillery and rooftop garden at The Summit atop Mt Coot-tha; a 100-metre-tall Sky Deck at the new Queen's Wharf precinct in the CBD; tearing down and rebuilding the Gabba; renewing and reinvigorating South Bank, complete with a treetop walk, a permanent handmade goods market and new riverside lawns; and making over Victoria Park. And, there's also the revamping and expanding of Northshore Hamilton, adding a new seven-hectare riverside parkland to South Brisbane, opening a fifth theatre at QPAC, and Kangaroo Point's new green bridge with an overwater bar and restaurant. Brisbane's Lumina Night Walk doesn't yet have an opening date, but will run 150 nights per year, on Friday and Saturday nights and during school holidays. Keep an eye on the Lumina website for further details. Images: Lumina.
Before Snow Machine became everyone's excuse to hit up Queenstown for a stint of music and skiing, the festival launched its mix of tunes in wintry climes in Japan. That was back in 2020 and it hasn't been back there since — until 2024 rolls around. Although Snow Machine Queenstown is still to come for 2023, Snow Machine Japan has locked in its return for Monday, February 26–Saturday, March 2 in Hakuba. On the just-dropped bill: everyone from Diplo and Marc Rebillet to Bob Moses and Todd Terje, plus Japanese talents Risa Taniguchi, Satoshi Tomiie and Shinichi Osawa. Snow Machine Japan might return when summer will be shifting into autumn Down Under, but it's one helluva excuse for a frosty holiday during the northern hemisphere's winter — and Japan's snow season. No matter where it's taking place, this is the hottest festival for the colder months, packed with a snow-filled week of music and adventure. Attendees will be treated to action-packed days on the slopes, après ski events, and a hefty roster of international acts against an idyllic backdrop. And, because this is Japan, onsen trips, sake aplenty and yakitori bites are also on offer. Other than the wintry setting, one of the things that sets Snow Machine apart from other music fests is being able to book your entire getaway with your ticket. Packages span five or seven nights of accommodation, and include a festival ticket across the entire event, plus a four-day lift pass for Goryu & Hakuba 47, Tsugaike, Iwatake and Happo One. A word of warning: unsurprisingly, the packages are popular. Although the Snow Machine Japan 2024 lineup has only just been announced, packages are already 85-percent sold out. If you're keen to take care of your own place to slumber and just nab a festival ticket, that's an option as well. Lift passes, rentals, lessons and activities can be then booked on top at additional cost, and you can opt for VIP access including heating and seating while you party if you're feeling particularly cashed up. SNOW MACHINE JAPAN 2024 LINEUP: Bob Moses (club set) Busy P Claptone Denis Sulta Diplo Ewan McVica George Fitzgerald (DJ set) GG Magree Marc Rebillet Nina Kraviz Risa Taniguchi Satoshi Tomiie Shinichi Osawa Todd Terje (DJ set) Reuben Styles and Danny Clayton present First Base Snow Machine Japan 2024 will be held from Monday, February 26–Saturday, March 2 in Hakuba. Presale tickets go on sale from 12pm AEST on Thursday, August 3, with general tickets available from 12pm AEST on Friday, August 4. For more information, visit the festival's website. Images: Pat Stevenson. Feeling inspired to book a getaway? You can now book your next dream holiday through Concrete Playground Trips with deals on flights, stays and experiences at destinations all around the world.
Since forming back in 1981, the Beastie Boys have enjoyed quite the career. The New York hip hop outfit has sold more than 50 million records, caused a splash with its music videos and assumedly inspired plenty of folks to dance like robots in Tokyo train stations. In 2012, it also lost one of its three members — Adam "MCA" Yauch — to cancer, then officially disbanded in 2014. The above summary barely scratches the surface, of course; however Apple TV+'s new live documentary is here to fill in the gaps. Based on surviving Beasties Mike "Mike D" Diamond and Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz's bestselling Beastie Boys Book, it takes audiences through the group's ups and downs — as guided by Mike D and Ad-Rock themselves. If you're wondering exactly what Beastie Boys Story will focus on, the band's 'Paul Revere' sums it up nicely. Clearly, here's a little story that Apple TV+ has to tell about three bad brothers you know so well. And yes, it started way back in history with Ad Rock, MCA and Mike D. As directed by Being John Malkovich and Her filmmaker Spike Jonze — who also helmed the Beasties' iconic 'Sabotage' music video, as well as clips for 'Time for Livin', 'Ricky's Theme', 'Sure Shot', 'Root Down' and 'Don't Play No Game That I Can't Win' — Beastie Boys Story is drawn not only from MCA and Mike D's book, but from the live performances that followed after it hit shelves. After publication, the duo took to the stage to talk fans through their career, in a show directed by Jonze as well. So mixing the performance with archival clips and turning it into a documentary was the clear next step, really. Originally due to premiere at this year's now-cancelled SXSW, Beastie Boys Story will hit Apple TV+ globally on Friday, April 24. As the just-dropped first trailer shows, it's a wild ride — and its filled with killer tunes. Ch-check out the trailer below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCyqR2RXoQU Beastie Boys Story hits Apple TV+ on Friday, April 24+.
Each year, the Berlin International Film Festival premieres a treasure trove of flicks that movie buffs will be talking about for months to come, and longer, including when said titles make their way to Australia. It also understandably goes big on new German cinema, which often heads Down Under via the German Film Festival — and that touring event now has the 2023 program to prove it. At Brisbane's Palace James St and Palace Barracks from Wednesday, May 3–Wednesday, May 24, film lovers can look forward to five Berlinale-debuting picks, starting with The Teacher's Lounge with Babylon Berlin's Leonie Benesch, which follows a teacher struggling over a series of thefts at her school; Sisi, the latest take on Empress Elisabeth of Austria-Hungary after Corsage, this time featuring Toni Erdmann's Sandra Hüller as her lady-in-waiting; and Ingeborg Bachmann — Journey into the Desert, as led by Corsage star Vicky Krieps as the titular writer. And, there's also the 1990-set Someday We'll Tell Each Other Everything, which stems from the page — plus crime-thriller Till the End of the Night, which won actor Thea Ehre Berlinale's Silver Bear for Best Supporting Performance. The German Film Festival kicks off with A Thousand Lines, hailing from Balloon filmmaker Michael Herbig, and diving into the IRL 2018 fake news scandal involving a journalist disgraced from Der Spiegel. At the other end, it'll close with Over & Out, Germany's addition to the spate of flicks about women reuniting with their old pals years later (see also: Off the Rails). Another hefty highlight: big focuses on the glorious city that is Berlin and also music, both via retrospective picks. So, add Christiane F, which follows the eponymous 14-year-old through 70s-era West Berlin and features David Bowie as himself, to your must-see list on the big screen. Add Wim Wenders' stunning Wings of Desire, about angels observing daily life but unable to interact with it, too. And, B-Movie: List & Sound in West Berlin 1979–1989 belongs in the same category with its archival footage and interviews, complete with Nick Cave, Joy Division and '99 Luftballons' band Nena. Other standouts include In a Land That No Longer Exists, as based on director Aelrun Goette's experiences in the 80s; documentary Merkel, about Germany's first female chancellor; crime comedy The Peacock; and body swapping in sci-fi Skin Deep.
Lewis Hamilton has called F1 "the most-authentic racing film you will ever experience in a cinema". "Audiences around the globe are going to feel like they're on the track and in the driver's seat," the superstar driver — who is one of the film's producers — has also advised. Director Joseph Kosinski, who knows a thing or two about making immersive high-octane movies thanks to 2022 smash Top Gun: Maverick, has talked about his determination "to make it authentic" and to represent the sport "in the absolute best way we could", including via collaborating with Hamilton and other Formula 1 insiders. F1 shot on real Formula 1 race weekends. Stars Brad Pitt (Wolfs) and Damson Idris (Snowfall) do their own driving, too. The world will discover how the end result turns out in cinemas Down Under from Thursday, June 26, 2025 — but if you'd like a taste of the flick's commitment to authenticity and immersion in advance, Apple's new haptic trailer will do the trick. Across the past few months, F1 has dropped multiple trailers, but its latest sneak peek is different — because it isn't just about watching. If you have an iPhone, Apple wants you to feel this glimpse at the film. It means that literally. That's where the haptics come in, with your iPhone vibrating as engines rev and roar throughout the trailer. Why Apple? Because, although F1 definitely has a date with cinemas and has been made for the big screen, the technology company's Apple Original Films is behind it. Accordingly, eventually it'll join Apple TV+'s catalogue — but long after it speeds into cinemas. This Formula 1 racing thriller tasks Pitt with feeling the need for speed as a former driver who returns to the track. Fictional team APXGP is at its centre, with Pitt as Sonny Hayes and Idris as his colleague Joshua Pearce — and reaching the sport's heights is their aim. Also featuring on-screen: Kerry Condon (Skeleton Crew) and Javier Bardem (Dune: Part Two), giving the movie a recent Oscar-nominee (for The Banshees of Inisherin), plus another winner (for No Country for Old Men) alongside Pitt. Tobias Menzies (Manhunt), Sarah Niles (Fallen), Kim Bodnia (Nefarious) and Samson Kayo (House of the Dragon) co-star as well. Hamilton's involvement comes courtesy of his Dawn Apollo Films production company. The feature is also being badged as a collaboration with the Formula 1 community, spanning its teams, drivers and promoters. Check out the regular trailers for F1 below — and hit up Apple's website via an iPhone for the haptic trailer. F1 releases in cinemas Down Under on Thursday, June 26, 2025. Check out the haptic trailer via Apple — and read what Joseph Kosinski and Lewis Hamilton told us about the film.
You'll be wonderstruck: for just over three months at Brisbane's Gallery of Modern Art, awe-inspiring works — creative marvels, too — are lining the walls and halls. Yayoi Kusama's The Obliteration Room is just one of the highlights at the venue's free Wonderstruck exhibition. Pieces by Patricia Piccinini, Ai Weiwei and American artist Nick Cave are a mere few others. From Friday, June 27–Sunday, October 5, 2025, celebrating the imaginative and visually spectacular is also on the agenda across the site's big-screen lineup. As it frequently does given that it's home to the Australian Cinematheque, GOMA is pairing Wonderstruck with a free film program, exploring how the themes at the heart of the exhibition translate to the movies. Its full range of flicks is split into a trio strands: colour, pattern and illusion. So, expect one of the three to be of significance in every single picture. The medium's earliest days are covered via Georges Méliès' A Trip to the Moon — and so is Wes Anderson's fondness for pastel hues in The Royal Tenenbaums and The Grand Budapest Hotel. The buzzing hummingbirds of documentary Every Little Thing, Studio Ghibli's wonders via My Neighbour Totoro, Michel Gondry's imaginative approach via The Science of Sleep: they're among the sights set to flicker through the gallery's cinemas as well. When you're not getting spectacular spectacular with Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge!, indulging pure imagination via the OG Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory or diving into one of Antonio Banderas' (Babygirl) finest performances in Pain and Glory, you can twirl through The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, be charmed by Amélie and fall for Her — and embrace the full Three Colours trilogy, surrender to The Green Fog, ponder All That Heaven Allows and navigate dreams within dreams in Inception. Doco Kusama: Infinity is a fitting inclusion, too. Films screen on Wednesday and Friday evenings, as well as Saturday and Sunday during the day.
As much as we all might want to, not everyone can make it down south for the Melbourne International Comedy Festival when it rolls around each year. No, we're not happy about it — but it's time to turn that frown upside down, because you can go to the next best thing. Yes, the Melbourne International Comedy Festival Roadshow is back for another year of touring hilarity. Bringing the best of the fest to the Brisbane Powerhouse on Friday, July 8 and Saturday, July 9, this showcase of highlights and hijinks is almost like being there. [caption id="attachment_661799" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Jim Lee[/caption] This year's line-up of local and international acts is certain to tickle your funny bone, with Blake Freeman, Chris Ryan, David Quirk and Nikki Britton on the bill, plus Daniel Connell on MC duties. Catch their funny acts live on stage during the chuckle-heavy set, trading their best jokes for your loudest laughs.
Where else but Sydney Film Festival could host the world premiere of The Pool? The documentary hails from Ian Darling, the Australian director behind The Final Quarter, and sports another supremely Sydney-centric focus: Bondi Icebergs. Think of a pool in the Harbour City, and this frequently photographed place for a dip likely springs to mind. So, Darling has spent a year charting its ins and outs to create this cinematic portrait, which will debut at SFF in 2024. The Pool is one of 17 titles that've been announced by the festival team ahead of dropping the event's full 71st-annual program in early May. Movie lovers will be watching the hundreds of flicks that make the final cut to kick off winter, from Wednesday, June 5–Sunday, June 16 — and including The Pool on its lineup likely marks the first time that anyone wished that the film fest took place in summer instead. When you're not exploring a Sydney icon at a Sydney icon — because both Bondi Icebergs and SFF are that pivotal to the New South Wales capital — you can watch your way through a carefully curated roster of flicks overseen by long-running Sydney Film Festival Director Nashen Moodley. As announced back in January, 2024's event will also boast the world's largest cash prize for Indigenous filmmaking, aka the new $35,000 First Nations Award. One title that'll be competing for the gong in its inaugural year is The Mountain, the directorial debut of New Zealand actor Rachel House, with the Heartbreak High and Hunt for the Wilderpeople star following three kids who set off on an adventure (yes, their destination is right there in the title). Also on the bill so far: horror classic Hellraiser, but not as audiences know it. The movie remains unchanged, but this is a Hear My Eyes screening, which means that it comes with a brand-new live score. Hieroglyphic Being aka Jamal Moss is doing all-new tunes, while visual artist Robin Fox will add a live laser performance — and the event hits Sydney after also being a part of Melbourne's RISING Festival. Suspended Time, the latest from French director Olivier Assayas (Irma Vep), is another big highlight. The drama is about a filmmaker and his brother in COVID-19 lockdown in their childhood home, is drawn from Assayas' own experiences and, although actors play the characters, features the director reading narration that's based on his own diary. Or, there's documentary The Contestant, about an IRL person on a Japanese television show who wasn't aware that his months spent naked in a room were being broadcast. From there, cinephiles can also start looking forward to Frederick Wiseman's (City Hall) Menus-Plaisirs — Les Troisgros, which brings his observational gaze to three-Michelin-star French restaurant; COPA '71, about the 1971 Women's World Cup; Green Border, with Mr Jones' Agnieszka Holland honing in on the refugee experience on the Belarus–Poland border; and In Vitro, an Aussie sci-fi thriller about a couple doing biotech experiments. Keen to see a restaurant-set dramedy starring Rooney Mara (Women Talking) and directed by Alonso Ruizpalacios (A Cop Movie). La Cocina has you covered. Interested in the newest film out of Bhutan by Pawo Choyning Dorji, whose Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom was nominated for an Oscar? That's where The Monk and the Gun comes in. If you're eager for a movie from Norway that features conversations about getting intimate — and dreams about David Bowie — then Sex is the answer. And, for those who've ever wondered about the hippos in Pablo Escobar's illegally imported private zoo, check out Pepe. For now, the list wraps up with Hungarian culture-war satire Explanation for Everything, Korean family drama House of the Seasons and the Kenya-set The Battle for Laikipia — plus The Rye Horn, which is about a midwife and won Best Film at the San Sebastián International Film Festival. "This first look at the 2024 program delves into the profound and the peculiar, from remarkable true stories to works of fiction and ingenious hybrid films that land somewhere in between," said Moodley. "This selection, though diverse in setting and scope, reveals some common themes: resilience foremost amongst them. These films offer a taste of a Festival program rich with discovery and insight, poised to captivate and inspire." Sydney Film Festival 2024 takes place from Wednesday, June 5–Sunday, June 16 at various cinemas and venues around Sydney. For more information, head to the festival's website — and check back here on Wednesday, May 8 for the full 2024 lineup.
All plot, all the time: that's how some filmmakers craft movies. Every scene leads to the next, then to the next and so on, connecting the story dots so that event A plus event B (plus event C, event D, event E and more) neatly equals wherever the narrative eventually ends up. Clio Barnard is not one of those writers or directors. Every scene always leads to the next in every film that tells any tale, no matter who's spinning it, but much of what happens in the Dark River and The Selfish Giant helmer's movies doesn't change, shift or drive the plot at all. Indeed, her features often have storylines that seem straightforward, as the tender and tremendous Ali & Ava does. But that uncomplicated appearance — including here, where a man and a woman meet, sparks fly, but complications arise — couldn't be more deceptive. In Ali & Ava, that man and woman are indeed Ali (Adeel Akhtar, Killing Eve) and Ava (Claire Rushbrook, Ammonite), both residents of Bradford in Barnard's native West Yorkshire. He's a working-class landlord — a kind and affable one, noticeably — from a British Pakistani family, and was once an EDM DJ. She's an Irish-born teacher's assistant at the school where one of Ali's tenants' children attends. Frequently, he's on drop-off and pick-up duty, because he is that helpful to his renters. So, when the skies open one day during his school run, Ali offers Ava a ride home rather than seeing her walk to the bus in the pouring rain. They chat, click, laugh, bond over a shared passion for music and slowly let their guards down. But what would a romance be, especially an on-screen one, if the path to love truly was effortlessly smooth? With a lyrical social-realist bent that'd do Ken Loach, living patron saint of British lyrical social-realist filmmaking, proud — see: Loach's I, Daniel Blake and Sorry We Missed You for his two most recent examples — Barnard unpacks everything that roughs up Ali and Ava's tentative courtship. But there's another English director who springs to mind, too, thanks to the way that Ali & Ava can turn from poignant to portentous in a second: This Is England and The Virtues' Shane Meadows. His work finds bliss and joy in ordinary, everyday moments, and also violence and menace as well. One can become the other so quickly that, if it didn't all feel so genuine and authentic, a case of whiplash might be the end result. All three filmmakers possess a commitment to detailing lives that aren't typically fodder for celluloid dreams; all three, including Barnard with The Selfish Giant and now Ali & Ava, make features in the vein that are potent, perceptive, dripping with empathy and as emotionally raw as films come. Ali, friend to everyone, is troubled by more than just regret about no longer hitting the decks. He has a wife, Runa (Ellora Torchia, Midsommar), who no longer loves him or wants to be with him. But he's too proud to tell his family, so they still live together while she keeps studying. That brings judgement his way, with his sister Usma (Krupa Pattani, Ron's Gone Wrong) vocal in her disapproval about his growing closeness with Ava. It makes Ava apprehensive as well, unsurprisingly. She already has enough of her own worries as it is, caring for her five kids — some of which have had kids of their own — as a single mother. One, her son Callum (Shaun Thomas, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children), remains affected by his father's death a year earlier, and also his parents' breakup before that. He's far from welcoming to Ali as a result, terrifyingly so, hating even the idea of him as his mother's potential friend. Writing a devastatingly layered script, Barnard spies the myriad of factors that test her titular twosome. She sees them with unflinching eyes, in fact. Racism is a constant that Ali is forced to live with. For Ava — who has a top arts degree, but needs a secure job that makes ends meet to support her family — classism has long worked the same way. On both sides, someone that Ali and Ava each knows has a strong, instant, knee-jerk reaction. On both sides, the pair's past woes linger like ghosts. Barnard took inspiration for Ali and Ava from people she met while making her other movies, and she knows that there's nothing that's simple about anyone's life, not for a moment. She knows that we're all haunted by everything that's ever pierced our happiness and shattered our fantasies, and she's determined to wade through exactly what that means. Grief, trauma, domestic violence, mental health, the responsibilities of being a parent and grandparent, the expectations of families, the strength it takes to care for others, the weight of forsaking your hopes and wishes for someone else, the complexities of looking for love when a big chunk of your days are behind you: they all have a place in this deeply thoughtful film. So does daring to put yourself first, striving to work past each and every roadblock, being willing to fight for what you want, and braving the unshakeable truth that nothing is ever 100-percent rosy. These themes, ideas and factors all percolate as the movie spends time with Ali and Ava, rather than through purposeful and overt plot point after purposeful and overt plot point. Again, that's the kind of filmmaker that Barnard is. Off-screen, we get to know people through their company; on-screen here, with cinematographer Ole Bratt Birkeland shooting as he did with the director's astonishing 2010 debut The Arbor, that's what Ali & Ava does, too. The picture's namesakes, and the actors behind them, prove exceptional company. They provide wonderfully laid-bare performances as well, which Barnard directs — and Birkeland lights and lenses — with feeling to match. Just as Ali and Ava's existences swing between euphoric and struggling, the movie about them balances its naturalistic, keenly observant approach with a poetic eye. Never is this more apparent than in scenes where Ali, Ava or both are listening to music. Sometimes he dances on top of his car, or on her couch. Sometimes they sit in his vinyl-filed basement. Sometimes they're just driving. Wherever they are and whatever they're listening to, forcefully and dutifully progressing the plot is never the point; learning who Ali & Ava's eponymous figures are, and understanding them as intensely as possible, always is.
Get ready to swoon. Nick Cave has just announced a tour of Australia and New Zealand in November and December this year, and unencumbered by new releases, he'll be playing a wide selection of classics that stretch right back into his 30-year catalogue. Unlike Cave's 2013 Push the Sky Away tour with featured his much-loved band The Bad Seeds, this will be a rare solo outing. Prepare yourself now — you're probably going to cry when he plays 'Into My Arms'. News of this tour comes fresh after the premiere of 20,000 Days on Earth — a fictional documentary (just go with it) about this legendary musician. We enjoyed this 90 minutes of one-on-one time with the artist so much we even named the film one the best at this year's Sydney Film Festival. Now we get to make this alone time a reality; just like in the cinema, this tour will be you and Nick Cave (and a bunch of strangers) in the dark. Beginning in late November, Cave will be hitting up Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane, Auckland, Wellington, Sydney and Melbourne. And, though the venues are large, the tickets will be snapped up quick. Hopefully these latter mid-December dates spell further good news for Melbourne fans though. Nick Cave at the Meredith Supernatural Amphitheatre, anyone? Oh god, please say it's so. Tour dates: Thursday, November 27 & Friday, November 28 - Fremantle Arts Centre, Perth Sunday, November 30 - Festival Theatre, Adelaide Wednesday, December 3 - Brisbane Convention Centre, Brisbane Thursday, December 4 - Gold Coast Convention & Exhibition Centre, Gold Coast Saturday, December 6 & Sunday, December 7 - Civic Theatre, Auckland Monday, December 8 & Tuesday, December 9 - St James Theatre, Wellington Thursday, December 11 & Friday, December 12 - State Theatre, Sydney Tuesday, December 16 - Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre, Melbourne Tickets go on sale Thursday, July 3.
This week Art/Work has a chat with Jai Pyne, frontman of local Sydney band, The Paper Scissors. I won't bother with the talk up because I am sure you already know them, and if you don't - you should! - they have already reached Mecca in guest programming Rage, so there. Come with us as Jai takes us for a wander through his day and round his 'hood. Most days you'll find me in my kitchen. I cook as much as I can, it gets me away from the computer. There are so many virtual things in life that it's nice to get real things and combine them and eat them, for real. When I am not there I am behind my computer doing work on stuff for the band. In my day job I teach people how to make coffee, I'm a Barista trainer. I work for The Golden Cobra, which sounds like a martial arts school, but is actually a coffee roaster. I spent a long time working as a barista, but starting work at 7am very much conflicts with playing music. I'm also working at a restaurant in Surry Hills a few days a week, it's called El Capo. It's all Latin American style street food. At the moment I am working on some new songs with The Paper Scissors. In Loving Memory was made over the course of 18 months, so after purging that we have started working on new music. If money wasn't an issue I'd make more music, I'd have a better kitchen and I'd buy more clothes. Being a musician in Sydney is fun. I was tempted to say it was hard, which it is, but it's also pretty amazing. I've met lots of great people in the last 6 or so years through music, some of them I now count as my best friends, I've seen some of them succeed wildly, I've seen some of them have babies, buy houses, I play basketball with some of them, I have man dates with them, I have played music with them. Plus just being fortunate enough to be a musician is a very amazing thing, I've been able to travel, play to people that are having the time of their life because of your music, I've heard my music being blasted out of speakers, on the radio… all good things. I wish that there were more people with heaps of money that would open venues in Sydney, but hey, money is an issue. My neighbourhood is great. I live of the South end of King Street in Newtown. I've been here for 4 years. I think Newtown has its crap bits, lots of shit Thai restaurants, shit cafes, but I still love this end of town. There are heaps of cool little shops and random oddities, I love the Fiji Market - spices, coconuts, any random ingredient you need, and Pete's Musicians Market is always good for a browse. It's hard to find a good coffee but Addison Road and thus Alchemy is nearby which is some of the best coffee in Sydney. I like the fact that Newtown is at the edge of the inner city, so you can go to Marrickville, or Dulwich Hill or other spots that are a bit more removed from the upwardly-mobile-elite in the inner city and you get to see real people that have lived there for ever and will sell you olives or Portuguese custard tarts, or charcoal chicken or obscure Spanish beers. My favourite spot in Sydney is by the water. I grew up in Sydney and have lived everywhere from here to Bondi to Balmain, my parents and I moved almost yearly when I was a kid. I really like the cliffs at Coogee, the south end, I just like feeling like you are at the end of the earth although you are in a massive city. https://youtube.com/watch?v=H5EqYCBq0E4
Not a whole heap of regular folk can say they love flying. The crying babies, the contortions you perform to try and get comfy, the inevitable sore neck. But, there's something that makes it all a little better: the bar cart. The flight attendant finally rolls that booze-filled trolley to your aisle and you get to pick between a tiny white wine or a tiny red wine. Ah, the life. We're all missing travel at the moment, which, apart from the obvious, we can tell by how quickly Aussies snapped up the Qantas pjs when they went on sale. And to help ease some of that yearning, Qantas is selling 1000 bar carts. Yes, its bar carts. And they come stocked full of those mini bottles of booze, too. The bar carts are from the now-retired Boeing 747 fleet, which have gone to live in the Californian desert, and come in two sizes: a full cart or half. They will set you back a pretty penny, but you do get a lot of booze. The full cart is $1474.70 — or 256,000 points, if that is something you have — and includes 80 187-millilitre bottles of white wine, 80 of red wine, two sleeves of Tim Tams, two full bottles of champagne, four amenity kits, two first-class blankets and four sets of those coveted pjs, plus some smoked almonds and savoury biscuits. The half cart is quite literally half a cart and half of the contents, but not quite half of the price ($947.70). You can also buy the mini bottles individually for $2.99 a bottle. The carts can be delivered to Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth metro postcodes. Yes, you could definitely just go and buy cheap wine and pretend you're on a plane — but, would it be as fun? No. So, get your mates to chip in and plan a night of low-altitude revelry. Qantas' bar carts are on sale until Friday, October 9 or until sold out. Snag yours over here.
In Stay of the Week, we explore some of the world's best and most unique accommodations — giving you a little inspiration for your next trip. In this instalment, we go to the newly revamped The Island Gold Coast, the spot we're putting up guests who book one of our exclusive For The Love VIP packages. WHAT'S SO SPECIAL? The Island once had a reputation of notoriety as a Schoolies-friendly Surfers Paradise hot spot with an aesthetic and fit-out wearied by time and wear. But no longer. It's undergone a major renovation and design overhaul to be re-envisioned as a tasteful boutique hotel that gives off nods to Soho House members clubs and classic California coastal hotel design. Located in the heart of Surfers Paradise across the road from Main Beach and walking distance to some of the area's best restaurants and bars, it puts guests situated perfectly for a combination of laidback beaching by day and mixing it up at night. THE ROOMS Each of the 98 rooms is full of hardwood timbers, native plants and open facades that bring the outside, in. The natural elements help make this space feel like a calm personal hideaway. The four-and-a-half-star accommodation has all the top amenities. Rooms feature a private balcony as well as tea and coffee facilities, a mini bar, the obligatory flat-screen TV, free wifi and a safe — luxe linen sheets are also a big win. Many of the rooms also come with partial sea views down to Surfer's Paradise Beach, so make sure you pick one when booking. FOOD AND DRINK You don't have to go far for good grub, with the hotel's restaurant, Goldie's, on the ground floor (right next to the pool). Get your classic brunch dishes till 10am then pop in for lunch or dinner for $18 wood oven pizzas, selection of burgers or the holy chicken parmy. You can also head up to The Island Rooftop in the afternoon for similar dishes alongside a selection of fresh seafood including trays of oysters and a special aperitivo menu on Thursday — for $69 guests get unlimited cocktails and food for two hours. [caption id="attachment_833776" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Lynda Hinton (Unsplash)[/caption] THE LOCAL AREA You're right in the thick of it when staying at The Island Gold Coast. First off, the Surfer's Paradise Beach is mere moments away or you can head further south if you want some slightly less-populated beach action at Broadbeach, Palm Beach or North Burleigh. Alternatively, you can take to the streets to find some of the area's boutique stores or hit up Home of the Arts to find live performances, lake-side strolls, cinema and art exhibitions. THE EXTRAS The Island is not just a fun place to stay, it's also a proper nightlife destination for locals and guests. The boutique hotel hosts drag brunches, a drag musical, Sunday live music sessions around sunset, weekend parties on the rooftop and the Cocktail Flight Club each Thursday (for $20 you'll get to taste a series of cocktails and get a full size version of your favourite). Even if you're not staying here, it's worth stopping by if you're visiting the GC. Feeling inspired to book a truly unique getaway? Head to Concrete Playground Trips to explore a range of holidays curated by our editorial team. We've teamed up with all the best providers of flights, stays and experiences to bring you a series of unforgettable trips in destinations all over the world.
Dreaming about a different life is a staple of coming-of-age films, with many a movie focusing on uncertain children or unhappy teenagers wishing for an existence far removed from their own. It's also a part of Australian documentary In My Blood It Runs; however, ten-year-old Arrernte/Garrwa boy Dujuan Hoosan and his friends aren't yearning to step into someone else's shoes. Instead, even at their tender age, they can simply see how they're being treated by Australian society at large. In one early scene, Dujuan and a group of other kids stand on a hill outside the Hidden Valley Aboriginal Town Camp, in Alice Springs. "That's where all the rich men come from," one comments, peering down at the city. "How come this mob get clean houses and not us?" asks Dujuan. "I wish I was living on that side," voices another kid. The chatter goes on, especially about the golf course in clear view. As Dujuan and his friends talk, they all note how much nicer the area looks compared to their own. A healer who's skilled in administering bush medicine, hunts proficiently and speaks three languages, Dujuan is deeply tied to his heritage and culture. "I was born a little Aboriginal kid. That means I had a memory, a memory about Aboriginals. I just felt something, a memory, history — in my blood it runs," he explains. He doesn't want to leave that behind, but rather for all Indigenous Australians to be treated fairly and equally. Whether he's sitting through school lessons about the First Fleet or speaking about his great-grandmother's upbringing as part of the stolen generation, he's acutely aware of Australia's historical attitudes towards the country's Indigenous population, as well the enduring effects on First Nations peoples today. With insight, wisdom and determination beyond his years, Dujuan is just as cognisant of what all of the above can mean for himself and other Indigenous children, too. The fact that this bright, charming, passionate, socially engaged kid is considered a poor student, and earns the attention of both welfare services and the police, speaks volumes. In late 2019, after the film initially started screening at festivals both in Australia and worldwide, Dujuan spoke to the United Nations about Australia's approach to youth incarceration, particularly in the Northern Territory — but, before he can get to that point, In My Blood It Runs chronicles his everyday struggles, including balancing western and traditional education, and meeting white society's expectations of a young Indigenous boy. At one point, he's told by his aunt that being sent to juvenile prison means "you're only going to end up in two places: a jail cell or a coffin". As shot over nearly four years — and interwoven with reflections from Dujuan, his mother Megan, grandmothers Carol and Margaret, and father James, as well as informative archival materials — the result is a compellingly candid and expressive window into Dujuan's mindset, desires and experiences, as told by a skilled filmmaker committed to doing his story justice. It has been five years since Maya Newell gave Australia one of its most engaging and diverse slices of childhood life in the form of the applauded Gayby Baby, and this follow-up continues to ponder the country's next generation, their hopes, dreams and everyday existence, as well as the way that today's attitudes and policies may impact their future. Now available to watch via ABC iView, In My Blood It Runs is also an observational documentary not only featuring Dujuan as its subject, but made in collaboration with him, his family and his community. It doesn't just feel empathetic as a result, but intimate and authentic, too. Dujuan himself shoots some of its footage, Newell made films alongside Arrernte Elders and families for a decade before starting this project, and the Arrernte and Garrwa families depicted were all consulted during every stage of production. The end product is a must-see movie dedicated not only to painting an accurate portrait of Dujuan's experiences, but to showing how it epitomises Indigenous childhood in Australia. Check out the trailer below: https://vimeo.com/358942768#at=1 In My Blood It Runs is available to stream via ABC iView until August 4. Top image: Maya Newell.
Mass environmental protests will flood the streets of Australia on Friday, September 20, when thousands of people across the country walk out of school and work to demand action on climate change. Part of the Global Climate Strike movement, and organised locally by School Strike 4 Climate, events will be held in cities and towns across the nation — not only in state capitals such as Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, but in more than 100 Aussie spots. With the United Nations' Climate Change Summit happening on Monday, September 23 in New York, the huge worldwide protests are timed to send a message. Taking place in 120 countries, they're the latest initiative to take the climate crisis to the streets, building upon the outcry expressed in other rallies this year. In March, a Global Climate Strike for Future attracted 1.4 million people around the globe. This week's strikes have significant community backing this time, too — thousands of Australian school students are expected to walk out of class to attend, more than 30 unions have pledged their support, and over than 1200 Australian and global businesses have committed to giving their employees time off so that they can head along as well. As well as drawing attention to Australia's horrific two years, weather-wise — as seen via soaring temperatures, prolonged drought conditions and the horrific bushfires that have plagued the Queensland and NSW for the last fortnight — protestors are fighting for three specific demands. They're asking for a ban on new coal, oil and gas projects, including the recently approved Adani mine; that 100-percent energy generated and exported by 2030 comes from renewable sources; and the funding of fair transition processes, including the provision of jobs, for fossil fuel industry workers and the communities currently reliant upon the sector. Unsurprisingly, most places across Australia can expect disruptions and delays on Friday as a result of the strikes, including possible road closures and traffic diversions. If you're planning to join the crowds or you're pondering your transport options for the day, here's how the events will go down in your city. And here are a few placard ideas, too: https://www.instagram.com/p/B2ev1lbHuwE/?igshid=yaz9l9ueayup SYDNEY Sydney protestors will converge on The Domain on Art Gallery Road at 12pm, then march to Hyde Park — heading down Macquarie Street, then along Elizabeth Street and ending on Park Street. For those keen to march through the city beforehand, a Global Climate Strike bridge walk will set off from Bradfield Park near Milsons Point Station at 10am. Accompanied by a marching band, walkers will stroll over the Harbour Bridge, then continue along the Cahill walk to The Domain. If you're looking for a caffeine hit before the strike, Single O in the CBD and Surry Hills will be doling out free coffees to protesters between 10–11.30am — don't forget to BYO cup (obviously). For public transport and traffic updates on the day, check Transport NSW and Live Traffic Sydney. MELBOURNE Melburnians will start their protest at the Treasury Gardens on Spring Street at 2pm, with people advised to arrive from 1.30pm. After a Welcome to Country, speeches and performances, a march will take place from 3pm. Protestors will walk down to Collins Street, keep going until Exhibition Street, then head down to Flinders Street — which'll bring them back to the gardens. If you're commuting to the strike via train, you may want to join one of the four pre-strike train parties — on the Belgrave, Mernda, Craigieburn and Upfield — where there'll be snacks, chanting, singing and dancing. For public transport and traffic updates on the day, check Yarra Trams and Vic Traffic. BRISBANE Brisbanites will assemble in Queens Gardens on the corner of George and Elizabeth Streets from 12.30pm, with speeches commencing at 1pm and a march to Musgrave Park — via Victoria Bridge — starting at 1.30pm. More speakers and performances will follow in West End's Musgrave Park until 4pm. Unions and workers will also be marching to Queens Gardens beforehand, meeting at 12.30pm at Brisbane Square in Reddacliff Place. For public transport and traffic updates on the day, check Translink and Qld Traffic Metro. Australia's Global Climate Strike protests will take place at various times on Friday, September 20. For further details, visit the School Strike 4 Climate website. Top image: School Strike
On March 14, Cyberdyne presented an exhibit at the 2011 Cybernics International Forum. The invention: HAL, an exoskeleton robot suit powered by electric motors that enhances physical strength and allows users to defy typical human capabilities. Creepy or cool? A little bit of both, I'd say. At first glance, it's perplexing to think that someone can slip on this suit and instantly inherit superhuman strength. The likes of Iron Man are revered in comic books and robots are cool in sci-fi movies, but to give humans that power in real life is both scary and a bit weird. Between these robot suits and the latest thought-controlled cars, the distinction between man and machine is starting to get blurred. But if you look deeper, HAL was designed to do more than just transform humans into cyborgs. Creators of HAL had a high-tech advance in industrial work in mind. The contraptions, that come in many forms, from a full-body suit to a "lite" single arm version, were initially aimed at helping factory workers who had to lift heavy objects on a daily basis. HAL would prevent joint pain and stress on the body, especially for older workers and those with limited joint function, and also aid people with reduced mobility. In addition, in light of the many recent natural disasters, developers have been thinking that robot assistance may have a future with the military, with firefighters or other rescue personnel. A group of firefighters with the ability to lift rubble on their own after an earthquake seems too good to be true, but with HAL it is a very real possibility. Yes, it is still somewhat creepy that a human being can now strap on a suit and basically turn into a cyborg. But if it can help save lives, then it's pretty damn cool. [via FastCompany]
If your winter routine usually involves not only a trip to Tasmania, but a stint at music and arts festival Dark Mofo, then you probably have June permanently blocked out in your diary. With 2022 ticking by, that wintry time is fast approaching — and the Museum of Old and New Art, the venue behind Dark Mofo, has started revealing what's in store at this year's fest. First up, it has also announced the festival's dates — even though it already did just that back in late 2021. In great news for folks planning a jaunt south, Dark Mofo 2022 will run for a week longer than originally planned, kicking off on Wednesday, June 8 instead of Wednesday, June 15. It'll still finish up on Wednesday, June 22, but that'll now give you two weeks to soak in the fest's program. The full bill won't be revealed until April; however, a few headliner highlights have been unveiled now — in what festival organisers are calling a 'resurrection'. That label comes after Dark Mofo scrapped its 2020 festivities due to the pandemic, then returned in 2021 amid controversy over an artwork that was announced and then ditched. [caption id="attachment_846522" align="alignnone" width="1920"] 3.2, 404.zero, Dark Downtown, Dark Mofo 2021. Dark Mofo/Remi Chauvin, 2021. Image Courtesy Dark Mofo, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.[/caption] On the lineup for 2022 so far, starting with week one: the return of The Blue Rose Ball and its costumed debauchery; an art program that'll feature both video and new media artist Bill Viola and multi-channel video artist Doug Aitken; and a Mona Up Late event to launch exhibitions by Jeremy Shaw, Fiona Hall and AJ King, and Robert Andrew. In week two, Berlin-based composer and producer Nils Frahm will play Music For Hobart, after hitting Sydney's Vivid festival with Music For Sydney — and Spiritualized will also play both fests. Exclusive to Dark Mofo, Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon will bust out songs from her 2019 solo release No Home Record, Deafheaven will take to the stage and classically-trained multi-instrumentalist Lingua Ignota will also join the bill. A few signature Dark Mofo events are on the lineup as always, too — including the Nude Solstice Swim, because it wouldn't be Dark Mofo without it. The City of Hobart Winter Feast will take place on the waterfront and Night Mass: Transcendence will make a splash in the In The Hanging Garden precinct, while the Reclamation Walk is also back. [caption id="attachment_846523" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Winter Feast, Dark Mofo 2021. Dark Mofo/Jesse Hunniford, 2021. Image Courtesy Dark Mofo, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.[/caption] As for what else is on the cards, Dark Mofo is always full of surprises, serving up a fantastical combination of musical performances, performance art and large-scale installations — so watch this space. In 2021, the program included a vibrating chamber filled with light, guided night walks through Hobart led by teenagers, 49 search lights beaming up into the sky and multiple performances by Sonic Youth founder Thurston Moore. And back in 2019, the fest featured the likes of artists Ai Weiwei and Mike Parr, American musician Sharon Van Etten and one of the world's largest glockenspiels. Dark Mofo will run from Wednesday, June 8–Wednesday, June 22 in Hobart, Tasmania. The full 2022 program will be announced in April — head to the festival website for further details in the interim. Top images: Home State Reclamation Walk, Dark Downtown, Dark Mofo 2021. Dark Mofo/Remi Chauvin, 2021. Image Courtesy Dark Mofo, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia / THE BURNING - OGOH-OGOH, Dark Mofo 2019. Photo Credit: Dark Mofo/Rémi Chauvin, 2019. Image Courtesy Dark Mofo, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.
In a dining world of charcuterie boards, micro herbs and croquettes, sometimes it is refreshing to find a restaurant not swaying to trends — sticking to the classics and doing it well. I guess being yourself is easier when your name is Romain Bapst — the man famed for the spanner crab lasagne he created during his 13 years at the helm of Il Centro. That dish is always in the list of 'must-do' dining experiences in Brisbane, and the good news is he has brought it along to his new French restaurant, Lutece. Unsuspectedly situated in Bardon, Lutece will first take your breath away with its view. With sweeping views out south west and to Mount Warning, at our lunchtime setting we were treated to a light fantastique as the usual summer storm rolled across the skies. You could imagine sunsets would be quite something too. First up treat yourself to some fresh baguette with truffled butter — this stuff is what dreams are made of and it will give you time to salivate over the menu. Naturally, we couldn't walk past an entree size of the famed spanner crab lasagne with crustacean sauce ($23). Words can't describe how fantastic this is; it must be tried to be believed and we'll be heading back for the main size. When it comes to French fare, it can be hard to go past duck on the menu, and if you do you should regret it. The slow-roasted portion of free-range duck ($40) is a hugely generous serve (both breast and leg) with a crispy skin and is plated up with a pea puree and creamed potato gratin. Traditional French cuisine has something both very fancy and and yet very comforting about it — the best way to be perhaps; no designer dress is much fun if you can't breathe while wearing it. Food shouldn't be pretentious, but satisfying. And satisfied indeed was I, the woman who ordered the duck. Food philosophy aside, it's time for dessert. Creme brulee ($12) is my sweet dream, but if you'd like a fluffier alternate, the souffle ($16) is a spectacle to be had. It changes daily; we were treated to a white chocolate and passionfruit morsel with passionfruit ice-cream accompanying. If Lutece sounds a little higher than your budget will stretch, don't stress. They do three-course lunches with wine for $45 Tuesday-Saturday. Yes, three courses. Or if money is no object, go all out with the exclusive duck press. Essentially a fancy 19th-century contraption squeezes the juice from bits of duck in front of your eyes ($120 per couple). Why not?
Pool party season just keeps on keeping on at W Brisbane, which is one of the benefits of opening a watering hole with its own spot to take a splash in this almost-always-warm city of ours. The latest excuse to put on your togs: Sundaze at Wet Deck, the hotel's weekly summer shindig in its fourth-level rooftop pool and wet deck area. Running from 2–6pm each Sunday until February 27, this end-of-weekend event lets you swing by to take a dip, sip drinks and dance the afternoon away, all with a massive view over the river towards Mt Coot-tha. Plunge into the 20-metre-long pool, admire the scenery and knock back refreshing cocktails, with your first tipple included in your entry fee. Tickets cost $25 online — and, after that drink of choice upon arrival, you'll be paying as you sip from there. So, you can make the occasion into as much of a big Sunday sesh as you like, or simply soak in the excuse to paddle around in one of the most eye-catching pools Brissie boasts — it's up to you.
It's the love story that has endured for more than four centuries. It's also the romantic tragedy that earns a new adaptation with every generation. Attempting to eclipse Baz Luhrmann's stylised 1996 film as the version of current record, and Franco Zeffirelli's expressive 1968 effort before that, the latest iteration of Romeo and Juliet returns to a classic interpretation. Think authentic settings, period staging, overt acting and smatterings of original dialogue. In fair Verona where the film lays its scene, the titular duo transform from the offspring of bitterly feuding families to the epitome of furtive but star-crossed lovers after a fateful masquerade ball meeting. Their pairing is strictly forbidden, but in the flourishes of affection neither can bear to even consider living without the other. Soon, their friends and relatives are immersed in an intricate web of mistruths and misdirection designed to prolong their illicit passion. With Downton Abbey's Julian Fellowes adapting William Shakespeare's celebrated play under Carlo Carlei's direction, that the film dwells in the material's melodramatic leanings is far from surprising — nor is its resounding air of politeness. Amendments and additions emphasise the tempered heartbreak, with only the scantest concern for textual fidelity. A heavy-handed score by Abel Korzeniowski graciously signposts not just each plot development but each emotional shift as well. It all plays out in handsome fashion, aided immensely by the use of the real Italian locale in shooting, but any spark or sentiment above and beyond the most routine of renderings is sorely missing. Pretty pictures and pronounced declarations aren't enough to elicit the delicacy and devastation of the original, as immersed in popular culture as it now is, especially when saddled with varying performances. The success of each presentation of Romeo and Juliet often stems from its casting, and whilst model-turned-actor Douglas Booth conjures romantic idylls as the former, and True Grit Oscar nominee Hailee Steinfeld embodies the innocence of young love as the latter, they lack the charisma needed for such a celebrated couple. They have their moments together (the balcony scene and the tearful conclusion the most convincing examples of their union); however, each fares better apart, not together. An attention-seeking supporting cast only serves to augment the leads' disappointing turns. Some relish the theatricality to wavering success, such as Damian Lewis's overacting Lord Capulet and Ed Westwick's snarling Tybalt; others provide a well-played point of difference (Kodi Smit-McPhee's helpful Benvolio, Paul Giamatti's intervening Friar Laurence and Lesley Manville's interfering Nurse astutely among them. The surrounding players should never attract more interest than the titular lovers, but here that's the outcome. Sadly, this Romeo and Juliet values the idea of its twosome more than their actuality. https://youtube.com/watch?v=aXvufMqcWQA
Unlike many other cities, Brisbane doesn't boast a huge tower or skyscraper with a lofty observation deck. Instead, if you want to see this town of ours from a great height, it's best to scale a natural landmark. The top of the Kangaroo Point Cliffs is one such place, and the cafe that's found at that exact spot has long been a local go-to — and it has just undergone quite the makeover. Now called Joey's, it's under the management of entrepreneurs Jordan Cowen, Michael Koo and Mark Bignell, who were awarded the most recent tender from Brisbane City Council. Obviously, there's one thing that definitely hasn't changed — because those scenic 180-degree views over the CBD aren't going anywhere. Visitors will definitely spot a new look, as inspired by the state's beloved Queenslander houses. The vibe, though, takes more than a few nods from summering in Europe. So, you can sit at picnic tables under multi-coloured umbrellas, and be surrounded by light tones and an airy space all round. Given that Joey's is open from 6am–midnight daily, its menu covers plenty of bases, including breakfast, snacks and mains. To start your morning, there's buttermilk pancakes, a bacon and egg roll, and cherry and walnut toast, all among an 11-item menu. For lunch and dinner, you can choose from pizzas, oysters, kingfish tacos, crab linguine, prawn sandwiches and chicken schnitzel — among other dishes. And, drinks-wise, expect both boozy and non-alcoholic beverages. The cocktail list spans options with and without the hard stuff, five types of spritzes and three different margaritas are available as well, and there's also a range of wines, beers, coffee and soft drinks. Images: Super Love Group.
There are thousands upon thousands of street signs all over New York City, but have they ever had rap lyrics on them? They have now. Street artist and graphic designer Jason Shelowitz, better known as Jay Shells, has combined his love of hip hop music and his brilliant sign-making skills to create the ongoing project titled 'Rap Quotes'. Shells creates "official-looking" red street signs with famous rap lyrics and puts them all over the streets of New York. From a distance the signs might look quite normal, but don't be mistaken by their official look; there are definitely rap lyrics printed on them. Shells has strategically placed the 30-plus signs at specific locations and street corners throughout the city, in the exact places by which the lyrics were inspired. For example, the lyrics "'Cause I want to be on 106 and Park pushing a Benz" by Kanye West were affixed onto a street pole on 106 and Park. According to Hip Hop Wired, Shells' first sign was inspired by the late rapper Big L. Now Shells' signs feature lyrics from Kanye West, Jeru the Damaja, Jay-Z, KRS-One, Heavy D, Big Daddy Kane, Nas, Jim Jones and others. https://youtube.com/watch?v=54yahfgbqQE Website ANIMAL posted a video of one of their team members following Shells around virtually every street corner in the city as he carried out his very site-specific project. In the video, Shells says he values people's inevitable interaction with the project. "The [signs] we put up this morning might already be gone. It depends what happy-go-lucky hip hop fan walks by one and scratches their head," he says. "I don't care if people take them. I would take them. I'm sure they're going to get taken. That's the good part about documenting it. They can live on that way." Via PSFK.
After opening 90 bars over the past eight years, bringing its worldwide footprint to 94, Scottish brewery BrewDog has finally set up shop in Australia. And, sprawled across a hefty parcel of land by the banks of the Brisbane River, it has arrived with a splash. That said, while a brand new jetty has just been built right next to the company's Murarrie site — which has been dubbed DogTap Brisbane — don't go planning on pairing your brew with a dip in the ol' Brown Snake. Brisbanites, you really do know better than that. Still, Calvin McDonald, BrewDog's operations manager for Australia, isn't ruling out making the most of DogTap's impressive location. "There aren't many bars in the world that are totally accessible by jet ski," he notes, without giving away what fun activities the company might have in store down the line. If you've been following the brand, you'll know that it has engaged beer-lovers in many inventive ways over the years, including launching a craft beer hotel in the US, brewing up a Subwoofer IPA for pooches and taking to the skies in the world's first craft beer airline. [caption id="attachment_751722" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Pandora Photography[/caption] In Brisbane, brew aficionados can look forward to the BrewDog basics when DogTap opens to the public on Thursday, November 21. Acting as the brand's Australian base, the brewery will pump out beer that'll get shipped around the country. It'll also have a huge taproom with food and plenty of opportunities to learn more about craft beer. There'll be tours of the facility, once the fully automated four-vessel 25-hectolitre brewing system and accompanying canning line is completely up and running in January, while eager drinkers can also enrol in Beer School — aka two-hour guided tasting sessions where one of BrewDog's Cicerone-certified staff will talk you through the BrewDog and craft beer basics. First announced in 2018, and only the company's fourth taproom directly attached to one of its breweries, BrewDog's $30-million street art-covered Brisbane site boasts a range of other reasons to drop by. Heading to the end of a Murarrie industrial estate hasn't ever been high on locals' to-do lists, but making the journey to sip freshly poured cold ones on a 485-square-metre riverside patio soon should be. The sizeable outdoor area comes with views towards Hamilton and the Gateway Bridge, as well as ample seating. There's also a selection of games, such as giant Jenga, giant chess and giant Connect Four. And, both the public and staff car parks are licensed too, so beer festivals and other events could be in DogTap's future. [caption id="attachment_751727" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Pandora Photography[/caption] If you're coming by for the beer, BrewDog's headliners (including its famed Punk IPA) sit alongside a heap of small-batch brews. Nodding to the growing local craft beer scene — one of the reasons that BrewDog chose Brisbane as its Aussie base, McDonald advises — is a rotating range of guest tipples from other Queensland breweries, such as Range Brewing, Currumbin Valley Brewing, Balter, Aether, Brouhaha and Black Hops. All-Australian wines, an Aussie-heavy spirits list and local soft drinks are also on offer, should you want something other than beer. Of course, if you fall into that category, McDonald hopes that BrewDog will convert you. He's adamant that there's a craft beer for everyone, and that anyone who says they don't like beer just hasn't tried the right brew for them yet. Food-wise, it's a lineup of familiar bar favourites. Think 11 types of burgers and eight kinds of pizza — plus Korean-style chicken wings, crispy pork, baby squid and barramundi fritters. On weekends, a brunch menu will feature chicken and waffles, eggs benedict and other classic meals, while you can tuck into two-for-one vegan dishes on Mondays. In addition to 16 blue leather booths and high-top tables, DogTap's industrial indoor area also has arcade games, including Addams Family and The Munsters-themed pinball machines. [caption id="attachment_751728" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Pandora Photography[/caption] Really love BrewDog? There's a merchandise stall that's already been selling items before DogTap even opens. Want a few brews to take home? Stop by the takeaway area on the way out the door. And if you're an interstate BrewDog fan hoping that it'll be coming your way soon, McDonald explains that the plan is to open five Aussie venues in the next five years (then, hopefully, another five before the brewery marks a decade in Australia). Find DogTap Brisbane at 77 Metroplex Avenue, Murarrie from Thursday, November 21. It's open from 12pm–midnight daily. Images: Pandora Photography
UPDATE, December 22, 2022: Jackass Forever is available to stream via Binge, Paramount+, Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Older men, same ol' tricks and dicks: that's Jackass Forever. The fifth film in the prank-fuelled TV-to-movie franchise isn't afraid of letting it show, either, just as it's never been afraid of flashing around male genitalia. No one in Jackass' crew of comic daredevils is scared of that much — or, if they are, they're more frightened of not challenging themselves alongside their buddies — so the proud and purposeful attitude flaunted in the flick's title and usual formula is thoroughly unsurprising. Twenty-two years have passed since Johnny Knoxville, Steve-O, Chris Pontius, Dave Englund, Wee Man, Danger Ehren and Preston Lacy first turned outlandish stunts and practical jokes into an MTV hit, but age hasn't wearied their passion or camaraderie. It also hasn't dampened the gang's fondness for showing their junk, but there's something sweet here among all the penises: the fact that time inescapably passes but doing stupid shit with your mates sparks immortal joy. Jackass Forever is stupid, because the kinds of gags that Knoxville and company love are profoundly idiotic — including the film's opening gambit, where a green Godzilla-esque creature tramples a city but it's really Pontius' package painted like a monster. Also inherently silly: using the cast's bodies to prop up skateboarding ramps, a Knoxville-hosted game show that penalises wrong answers with a whack to the sack, exploding a port-a-potty while Steve-O is using it and a contraption made of harnesses that simultaneously gives three people wedgies. The ridiculous bits go on, including lighting farts underwater and drinking milk on a moving carousel to the point of vomiting. Another reason that Jackass is forever for this troupe: they're still as juvenile now, even though they're all over or approaching 50, as they ever were. Describing Jackass' risky skits and scenes never comes close to watching them, but how funny anyone finds this franchise depends on individual senses of humour and, sometimes, upon your mood on any given day. Regardless, there's always been an art to its follies, as captured on camera by Jeff Tremaine, the series' longstanding director, and also its co-creator with Knoxville and Her filmmaker Spike Jonze. Jackass' slapstick credentials carry on the traditions of Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin and The Three Stooges, but lewder and grosser, obviously. The saga's commitment to documenting not just the stunts and pranks themselves, but the setups, attitudes in advance and reactions afterwards — the key interplay between its perpetrators, victims and spectators, too — also sees it deconstruct the brand of comedy it sports as it goes. These sense-defying jesters show their working, in other words, and share the thrills it inspires. No wonder they don't ever want it to stop. Mortality does hang over Jackass Forever, however, as seen in a number of ways — starting with Knoxville's grey hair. It isn't always so strikingly silvery, and he's also shown talking about not wanting to show his bald spot, which Jonze then rushes in to cover with black spray paint. But when the crew's ringleader does let his wintry-hued tresses show, it's the best visual representation possible of how these guys will be adoring all things Jackass till they die. Well that, and the plethora of injuries suffered, including Knoxville's concussion, brain haemorrhage and bone fractures from a bull stunt. Jackass' ridiculous men can't escape the passing years and its impact upon their bodies if they wanted to, but it clearly makes them savour what they're doing. Indeed, also prominent this time around is the sense of gratefulness that they're all still able to give Jackass another whirl, a feeling deepened by the film's dedication to former co-star Ryan Dunn, who was killed in a car crash a decade back. It's been 12 years since Jackass 3D, although we all know that pop-culture hits never die — and, in this case, the brand even manages to survive 2013's hidden-camera comedy Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa — but making this movie with so much of the OG cast definitely isn't being taken for granted by anyone involved. Plus, that aforementioned sweetness also filters through in the kindness and support the gang show in the moment here, even while devising the feature's torturous scenes, egging each other on and clearly enjoying seeing their pals squirm. They're all in it together, even if Ehren does seem to take the bulk of the movie's physical punishment. A new roster of talent joins in as well, but bringing in Sean 'Poopies' McInnerney, Zach Holmes, Jasper Dolphin, Eric Manaka and Rachel Wolfson — Jackass' first female member — isn't about passing the torch. It's about sharing, as the regulars also do with celebrity guests such as Eric Andre, Tyler the Creator and Machine Gun Kelly. Jackass has always had a hangout vibe and a more-the-merrier attitude to its dangerous displays, after all. Dispiritingly, the latter also applies to too many Jackass Forever bits that rely upon animals, including Wolfson's lone solo segment, which are the kinds of jokes that not just this comedy brand and its pranksters but the world in general should've outgrown by now. Perhaps Jackass sticks to its critter-centric jokes for the same reasons it keeps giving cinema as much male nudity as it can: its ageing daredevils just aren't interested in new tricks. Instead, they want to have the same stupid and needless fun they've always had — because no one needs to either participate in or observe any of Jackass' pranks — purely for the sake of it. You can read in plenty of meaning along the way, including the ultimate manchild schtick, performative toxic masculinity and bromance (and, here, mid-life crises as well). Also, laughing along with every setpiece, simple and elaborate alike, is far from a given. But Jackass Forever still makes its audience appreciate its lust for life and rage against the dying of the light, and its cast's undying affection for their always-immature gambit, as well as their willingness to be jackasses purely to get each other and the world chuckling.
Almost synonymous with the proud Aussie spirit, R.M.Williams boots are representative of far more than sturdy footwear. Made on demand in the Adelaide workshop, a pair of RMs delivers quality craftsmanship, trend-surpassing style and excellence in both form and function — all from an Australian owned and operated business. In celebration of R.M.Williams' 90th birthday — a milestone indicative of its long-held icon status — the brand released a limited-edition capsule collection. The release features an exclusive range of boots in the iconic Craftsman and Lady Yearling styles — both renowned for being made from a singular piece of leather and passing through over 80 pairs of hands in their making — which come adorned with commemorative 90th anniversary tugs. Also in the collection is the Jerrawa belt complete with a celebratory plaque (a detail that graces the boots, too). Although the boots and belts are the hero pieces of the range, the exclusive apparel and lifestyle offering from the outback originals are just as worth coveting. Joining the leatherwear is an assortment of tees, made in collaboration with the world's first climate-positive cotton company Good Earth Cotton, and sweatshirts — all of which are emblazoned with the 90th anniversary branding. Plus, if you're keen to try your hand at leatherwork, you can buy the all-new Makers Kit, which is stocked with supplies to handcraft a durable leather cover for The Bushman's Handcrafts, the book authored by RM himself. If you're a legacy fan of the company or you're simply looking to get your first piece, the brand reaching nonagenarian status offers a momentous occasion for your purchase. As the legendary bootmaker Reginald Murray Williams explained, "If you make something good, people will make a track to your door. We made simple things that people wanted and kept them simple." And come the people did. To secure your slice of Australian history, shop online or in store.
Caxton Street's go-to for whisky, southern-style food and Americana rock, Lefty's Old Time Music Hall left Brisbane's nightlife scene with a considerable gap when it shut up shop last November. Thankfully, the Petrie Terrace venue isn't staying closed for much longer, with new management swooping in, slightly amending its name and reopening the joint by the end of February. While the dive bar-style spot is now called Lefty's Music Hall and will be run by Hallmark Group Australia — the folks behind Jamie's Italian, Jamie Oliver's Pizzeria, Finn McCool's and Retro's Cocktail Lounge — not much else seems to changing. If you've been a fan of its honky-tonk saloon theme, famed whisky apples and live music lineup since it originally launched back in 2013, that's all sticking around in the new iteration. So are Lefty's vintage chandeliers, crimson walls and the sizeable mirrors splashed around the place. Also staying put: its black leather booths lit by candles, giant curved bar, smattering of moose heads, wall-mounted bear and peacock, and heavily used stage and dance floor. Basically, it's a case of 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it'. That seems understandable given how popular the venue has always been, and the reaction when it was shuttered suddenly. Exactly what'll be on Lefty's specific food and drink menu has yet to be revealed — other than that popular blend of whisky and freshly juiced apples — but the bar will be serving plenty of boutique beers and, obviously, whisky. As for its entertainment lineup, it'll once again focus on rockabilly and country music, showcasing local, Australian and international talent. Find Lefty's Music Hall at 15 Caxton Street, Petrie Terrace, from a yet-to-be-announced date in late February — we'll update you when an exact opening date comes to hand. Top image: Google Maps.
The last time that Lady Gaga appeared on the big screen, she nabbed an Oscar nomination for Best Actress for her troubles (and a shiny trophy for Best Original Song, too). Three years after A Star Is Born, she's heading back into cinemas in House of Gucci — and while no one should be speculating about accolades sight unseen, this true-crime fashion drama sure does scream potential awards contender. Haute couture. Murder. Disco tunes and Studio 54. Throw in one of the biggest names in fashion — and a tale that's filled with both glam and grim strands, too — and that's this Ridley Scott (The Last Duel)-directed film. Ranking highly among the most anticipated movies set to hit the big screen across the rest of 2021, it steps inside the Gucci family fashion dynasty, charting its successes and shocking moments over the course of three tumultuous decades. If you've read the book The House of Gucci: A Sensational Story of Murder, Madness, Glamour, and Greed, which this new movie is based on, then you'll know the details. If you've seen news coverage about or can remember the events that rocked the Italian family back in 1995, you will as well. The focus: Maurizio Gucci, grandson of company founder Guccio Gucci, and the head of the fashion house throughout the 80s and early 90s — until he was assassinated by a hitman in 1995. Adam Driver slips on Maurizio's unsurprisingly stylish shoes, in what's proving a big year for him in cinemas (he also starred in The Last Duel, as well as in Annette a few months ago). As for Lady Gaga, she plays Maurizio's wife Patrizia. And, as the just-dropped new trailer shows — following on from a first sneak peek mid-year — her character isn't holding back. Obviously, there's quite the story to unpack here, and Scott seems to be going big on striking threads, 70s and 80s tunes and vibes, indulgence and luxury dripping through in every frame, and also an unavoidable air of melodrama. To help, the film's star-studded cast also includes Jared Leto (The Little Things) sporting plenty of prosthetics and makeup, as well as Al Pacino (The Irishman), Jeremy Irons (Love, Weddings and Other Disasters) and Salma Hayek (The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard). As both trailers reminds us, that's a whole lot of Oscar-winning and Oscar-nominated talent in one flick. Check out the latest House of Gucci trailer below: House of Gucci will release in Australian cinemas on December 26. Image: 2021 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Send in the clowns, Stephen King must have thought to himself back in the '80s at he put pen to paper on It. The prolific horror author wasn't the first to turn makeup-caked comic performers into nightmare fodder, but boy oh boy did he help make the concept stick. One glance at Pennywise — the white-faced, flame-haired figure who jumped from the novel to a '90s mini-series and now a feature film — and it's easy to see why the character has become so iconic. Even for those who don't suffer from coulrophobia, he's a terrifying sight that no one would want to spy peering out at them from a storm drain. As such, It is at its best when it embraces Pennywise's frightening presence and runs with it, whether he's roaming around a crumbling old house, splattering blood all over a bathroom or crawling out of a screen. It knows which buttons to push, and when to have the sinister villain appear suddenly to ratchet up the scares. That's to say nothing of the fact that, in addition to just being an inherently upsetting concept, an evil clown makes for a potent symbol of innocence corrupted. Indeed, when it comes to watching kids get spooked by not only a shape-shifting monster, but by a spate of dramatic and everyday childhood traumas, the film delivers. We first meet Pennywise (Bill Skarsgård) on a rainy 1988 afternoon in Derry, Maine, as pre-schooler Georgie Denbrough (Jackson Robert Scott) floats a paper boat in the gutter. Needless to say, it doesn't end well for the curious boy. The next summer, his 13-year-old brother Bill (Jaeden Lieberher) still holds out hope that Georgie is alive, and enlists his pals to help in the search. From the outspoken Richie (Finn Wolfhard) and mama's boy Eddie (Jack Dylan Grazer), to the overweight Ben (Jeremy Ray Taylor) and rumour-plagued Beverly (Sophia Lillis), they're the picked-upon, self-named Losers Club of the school, each with their own set of troubles. Before long they all start seeing Pennywise — along with the unfriendly entity's various other guises — as they delve deeper into their small-town's death-ridden past. In a considerable step up for Mama director Andy Muschietti, It assembles a clown car full of effective elements: horrific imagery aplenty, the skills to make it stick, and the smarts to show that supernatural bogeymen and real-life bullies aren't all that different. Each does the trick, even when viewers can guess what's coming. It helps, too, that it's all paired with an impressive cast. Skarsgård, brother of True Blood's Alexander, is an unease-inducing delight as the murderous Pennywise, which might be the only acceptable way to say something nice about a character who's most definitely not. The kids all play their parts well, though relative newcomer Lillis steals the show from the teenage boys she finds herself sharing the screen with. Ironically, the inclusion of Stranger Things' Wolfhard draws attention to the film's main weakness: the demogorgon that is nostalgia. Swapping the book's '50s setting for the decade in which it was written smacks of jumping on the current '80s-loving bandwagon. It's a cycle as vicious as Pennywise feeding off the fear he creates: the Netflix series was influenced by King's body of work, and the new movie in turn tries to ape its success. Ultimately, it leaves It feeling suitably unsettling, yet all-too-familiar in its eagerness to copy recent retro-styled hits and era-appropriate horror fare. Even so, you'll probably still have clown-filled dreams after you finish watching. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulSJ1yQmZ5Q
